Disclaimer: I own nothing...
Chapter 52
May History Never Forget The Name...
June 27, 2387
Earth
Space Dock
Lieutenant Savannah Weaver's final moments on the USS Titan were busy and unceremonious.
She had packed her few personal effects and finished her duties hours beforehand, leaving her to finish up work on her side project before she was due to depart.
Her project was a massive suit of power armor based heavily on a UNSC design called the HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL Mark I ADS.
Savannah modified the prototype's design using this universe's vast array of technology, and the results were impressive. She made the armor sleeker and more sophisticated while keeping many of the original's design aesthetics.
Simply named the Mark II ADS, it had better armor, weapons, sensors, and shields than its predecessor, but it was not yet battle-worthy. She'd been unable to test it in the field.
Getting approval to build the armor had taken over a year, and even then, she doubted it would ever see combat in Starfleet. Maybe the design would be tweaked for exploration in hostile environments or as a heavy-lift vehicle in high-gravity environments, but even then, it might get canned entirely.
Transporting such a weapon of war required bureaucratic oversight, and the Titan's chief of security, Tuvok, was with her as she guided the armor into its specially designed cargo pod.
The infamous Vulcan disapproved of the ADS Mark II and questioned her intentions on multiple occasions. She always gave the same reason: the Dominion War.
Since he'd been on Voyager during the war, he didn't know the horrors of protracted ground combat against a physically superior foe.
While he couldn't deny her reasoning for creating such a tool of war, he was right about one thing: it wasn't Starfleet.
Good thing she didn't care. It wasn't for them.
Starfleet and the rest of the Federation's military divisions didn't really seek out new ways to kill other sentient beings. They wanted to compete just enough to keep the status quo with their usual foes and produce reliable, multi-role weaponry.
A battlesuit armed to the teeth didn't fit that vision.
"I do not understand why Commander Torres would allow such an apparatus in Utopia Planetia."
He was exasperated at this point, failing to find logic in her persistence.
"She appreciates good hardware, Commander," Savannah replied. "We're planning on swapping the weapons suits out for multi-tools so the exosuit can be used to aid starship repair in the field."
Tuvok remained dissatisfied with her explanation, but he was on a tight schedule to offload the prototype before overseeing the next duty shift change.
After loading the pod with the ADS Mk II, Savannah turned to her former commanding officer with one last line of reasoning: "A civilization that can harness its darkness without letting it corrupt them is one that can endure."
"A fine balance that never lasts," he remarked.
"And yet we let Section 31 do all the dirty work for us while our hands stay clean. What does that say about us?"
"Given our limited information about Section 31, you cannot substantiate those claims, unless you have personal experience."
She had, but that was hardly his business. "I know people who've had to deal with their particular brand of justice."
Tuvok had no reply. Without actual evidence, he could neither prove nor deny her statement.
After the exosuit was transported off the Titan, Tuvok turned his attention back to Savannah. "You are an enigma, Lieutenant Weaver."
She gave him her attention as one of her copper eyebrows lifted at his opening.
"That being said," he continued, "you are an exemplary officer, hardworking and determined. Your bravery is unquestioned, and everyone on this ship, myself included, would trust you with our lives."
Savannah swallowed hard and steeled her features. "Thank you, Commander. It's been an honor serving under you."
"The honor is mine," the Vulcan replied.
The two shook hands before Tuvok took his leave. Savannah was left alone in her section of the cargo bay.
She found a hidden corner behind a rack of crates, away from any prying eyes, and leaned back against the wall. Her rigged mask fell away as an emotional tidalwave washed over her, causing a shuddering breath to escape past her lips.
Joining Starfleet had never been about gaining anyone's respect. It was supposed to be a means to an end. But now? She really wanted to just explore strange new worlds and go where no one had gone before.
In just a few hours, she would have throw it all away.
Tuvok would come to regret his glowing words of praise.
Maybe one day, she'd get to explain her logic to him, and maybe he'd understand, but he would never trust her again.
She sank to the floor and let the emotions flow out as she held back tears that so desperately wanted to flow.
Her PADD beeped, suddenly, and then her mask slid back into place.
She had things to do, and there was no way she was going to let anything slip now.
There was plenty of time to cry later.
Ezri Dax, Captain of the USS Aventine, stared at the four gold pips she'd just removed from her uniform.
When she'd first joined Starfleet all those years ago, she'd never really imagined herself sitting in the Captain's chair. A counselor was what Ezri Tigan wanted to be. Dax changed all that.
Now, with a little trans-dimensional interference, she was a captain and a criminal mastermind. A conspiracist daring to do what few had before: steal the Enterprise.
She imagined that that would be the one of the lesser charges brought against her.
As Ezri began assembling the transwarp beaming unit in her cabin, she was haunted by the disgust her crew would feel once her treachery came to light. As the unit came together, she was able to bury the feelings and the faces disappeared into the back of her mind.
The mission came first and foremost. Nothing else mattered until Skynet was dead.
Today's timeline played out in her head like a theatre play.
Everything was planned down to the second.
When the device was finished, she started the self-diagnostic and collapsed back against the bed.
With a deep breath, she gathered her strength and resolve and stood up, straightening her uniform as she did.
"Computer," she began, "execute program Isabel-1701, authorization, Dax115Alpha."
"Authorization confirmed," the omnipresent voice echoed, "Executing program Isabel-1701."
Her fate was sealed.
The Aventine was now compromised and open to Isabel's silent infiltration. The AI would hide the transwarp signal the unit would send and automatically transfer command to her first officer silently.
"Are you ready, Ezri?"
Isabel's voice was somber, tentative.
Ezri didn't answer until she'd changed out of her standard uniform and into the one chosen by Voyager's Resistance crew.
"I am now, Isabel," she said with finality.
She was closing this chapter of her life far earlier than she'd ever wanted, but there was no other viable option. Skynet had to be stopped, and all traces of its technology contained and destroyed.
With one last look at her old uniform folded neatly on her desk, Ezri triggered the transwarp beaming unit and left the Aventine behind forever.
On Earth, Jadzia was having an emotional crisis on her own.
Time was running out, and it hadn't been easy sneaking into the ward where Worf was being treated. There was more than one person around who'd recognize her if she just walked in.
Borrowing a trick she'd used in the past, the Trill removed her spots and altered her facial features with a dermal regenerator. Coupled with a nurse's uniform and spoofed credentials, Jadzia made it to Worf's room unaccosted.
She'd tried to prepare herself for this, but seeing someone as strong and resilient as her husband on life support was heartbreaking.
After steadying herself on the door frame, Jadzia walked over and checked his vitals. He was already stabilized, awaiting new replicated organs to replace the ones shredded by the mechanical tentacle Nero had skewered him with on the Narada.
Wary of being caught, Jadzia did her best to look like she was tending to Worf rather than visiting him, but the dulled color of his face and his slack features were hard to take in.
Her badge chirped quietly, letting her know she was running out of time.
She kissed Worf on the forehead and wiped tears from her eyes.
"I'm not sure how you'd react if you were awake," she muttered quietly, "you'd probably go on and on about my spirit being in Stovakor or some other Klingon religious b.s. and dismiss me as a cheap copy."
She paused, trying to keep the dam holding back her emotions from breaking. "Maybe you'd be right, but I don't have the luxury of wasting time deliberating whether that's true or not. I... we have to stop something horrible from happening. Ezri, Benjamin, and I."
Her badge beeped again.
"If you were awake, I'm sure you wouldn't hesitate to help us, but I couldn't let you do that even if you were able to," Jadzia sighed.
She swallowed the emotions rooting her in place and stood up straight.
"Goodbye, Worf."
Fate had taken happiness from her. Time would tell if she'd get the chance to find it again, but given the odds they were up against, she wasn't betting on it.
For now, she chose to put the past behind her and look only to the future.
If she didn't, she might not be able to walk away.
Benjamin Sisko was having no easier a time than the Daxes were.
Unfortunately, he couldn't risk visiting any of his family.
His job was to wait with the Defiant, cloaked in interstellar space, until the signal was given.
That didn't stop him from sending holo messages to each of them, including the child he'd never met.
It wasn't nearly enough to make up for the time lost, but when it came to his family's safety, he was willing to do almost anything.
He knew their reactions wouldn't be positive to the messages he sent, and especially not after finding out what part he played in this conspiracy. In time, maybe, they'd understand.
Sisko had no idea if he'd survive the war with Skynet. Despite his time with the Prophets, he did not know when he'd die.
In this case, fate would be what he would make it.
And part of him was thrilled about that after having his destiny set since conception.
That feeling was tempered with the pain of losing twelve years with his family, including the final ones of his father's life.
These feelings were not ones he liked to dwell on, but with nothing else to do for the moment, they haunted him.
He sat in the captain's chair on the Defiant. The bridge was mostly dark and silent since they were cloaked and running silent, save the floor lights and the glow of the consoles.
"Captain Sisko?"
Tora Ziyal's voice snapped him out of his dark mood. He was glad she was with him before the action began. She knew how to uplift spirits even in the darkest times.
"I told you to call me Benjamin," he chided lightly.
She smiled as they began their old banter regime. "Not while you're in that chair, Captain."
"I'm not captain of anything, Ziyal."
"You know that's not how we see you."
"Does that mean I should start calling you Lieutenant Tora?"
"If you like," she teased as her hands moved to her hips. "Though I think I'm better off in TechComm than Starfleet."
It was true, after all. She had trained with Sarah to fight Terminators, with side courses on various human factions, Covenant, and a touch of Promethean Knight.
She shivered at the thought of the glowing, ghostly transhumans.
"Given how often we face rogue AIs, I'm not so sure," Sisko countered humorously, earning a huff from Ziyal that ended in a smile.
In truth, Ziyal didn't have the drive to make it through the academy nor the brains to deal with all the high-level courses. She was an artist parading herself as a warrior and a nurse.
Not to mention how some people might not want her around, given her family heritage.
"So," she said after a pregnant pause, "Everything still on track?"
"See for yourself," he gestured towards the tactical console to his right.
Ziyal sat down and observed everyone's status and location, including Isabel's.
"John Henry already arrived?"
"About two hours ago," Sisko replied.
Ziyal checked the schedule and saw that Ezri had just arrived on Earth after beaming away from the Aventine. Jadzia was still at the hospital, and Savannah was at Starfleet Headquarters getting ready for her part in the plan.
Sarah and Kyle were at their home, where Ezri and Jadzia would join them in the coming hour with Isabel's physical form.
"Looks like everything is on schedule so far," Ziyal commented after seeing the Enterprise-E exactly where they expected it to be. "Are you sure the ship seeds will be quick enough to install the slipstream drive and fix the structural damage?"
Sisko steepled his fingers. The damage to the Enterprise had been greater than he had hoped, but it was within design tolerance for the seeds.
"Savannah's working on a distraction that should buy us some time" he answered slyly.
A frown sprouted on Ziyal's face. She'd never really warmed up to the redhead who'd experimented on her all those years ago. "Does this have to do with those creatures of hers?"
"It does," Sisko confirmed sourly, "I'll admit I don't have room to talk about using underhanded tactics, and it could give us an edge."
"Or it could blow up in our faces. The whole point of all this secrecy was to leave everyone in the dark," she blew out as her hands flew up out of exapseration.
"At least we know no one's in real danger," Ziyal growled as her attention returned to the tactical station's readouts.
Savannah was something of a mad scientist at this point, and the proof was resting in her arms, sleeping contently.
Few people knew what a moopsy was, and fewer still knew that they were genetically engineered organisms. She wasn't sure what their original purpose was, but at some point they'd been weaponized.
The one in her lap was different than the one she'd seen in a menagerie as a child, but functionally the same. She'd just changed what chemicals it was designed to seek out and consume for the purpose of neutralizing the only person who could feasibly compromise their plans: Captain Data.
Since Isabel had partially revealed herself to him two years ago, Savannah had worked with her to mitigate the threat he might pose.
The other heroes from the shows stationed on Earth also posed an unknown threat. Considering how many of them had reputations for saving the day and pulling off insane stunts that disrupted their enemy's plans, Savannah was determined to distract and contain them when the ship seeds were deployed to Enterprise.
Tracking Data down wasn't easy, but Isabel had gotten ahold of his itinerary. They had to take him out early since he'd be in a meeting with top-level brass when the heist.
With some input on Savannah's part, Isabel arranged for one of his earlier meetings to be in a room of her choosing. Once he was on his way, Isabel silenced any notifications to his comm badge.
Data would show up to a conference room with only her waiting for him.
"Moopsy!"
The creature looked up at her, and Savannah tossed it another gelatinous morsel. It leaped up and opened its mouth to its fullest extent, swallowing the morsel in one gulp.
When a moopsy spoke, you fed it or faced the consequences.
They were smart little buggers too, and Savannah didn't want it to run off and cause additional mayhem than what they had planned.
After tossing it another morsel, the moopsy quieted down and went back to sleep.
Savannah checked her chronometer to make sure the moopsy's feeding schedule still lined up with Data's arrival.
She'd been reasonably sure, but they couldn't afford any mistakes at this stage.
John Henry would soon escape this reality with Seven of Nine and the Doctor, and in the midst of that chaos, Isabel would launch her multipronged cyberattack. Data had to be down before that, or he might be able to counteract Isabel's infiltration or even prevent them from stealing the Enterprise.
After checking the time again, Savannah put the moopsy back in its cage under the table and then sat down at the head of the conference table.
She steeled herself as the doors slid open, and the infamous android walked into the room.
With a click of a button, the doors snapped shut, locked themselves and simultaneously opened the moopsy's cage.
Data attention snapped to her, his mind churning at the oddity of the situation.
"Can I help you, Lieutenant?"
"Not particularly," she replied. There was no reason to reveal more than needed.
The android's face briefly frowned. "I am afraid I do not understand the purpose of this deception."
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry," she said just as the moopsy waddled out from under the table.
Data focused on the creature as he tried to identify it, and by the time he did and figured out what Savannah had planned, it was too late.
The moopsy had locked onto him when he'd entered the room. Its almost insatiable hunger had found Thanksgiving dinner, and it wasn't about to let it get away.
"Moopsy!"
Data was fast, but so was the creature, and Savannah had trained it well.
The moopsy dodged Data's attack and leaped at his leg with its mouth open wide and its fangs bared before sinking them in with a sickening shnick.
In less than half a second, the moopsy injected a powerful cocktail of enzymes and acids designed to break down Soong-type android's locomotive and power subsystems. Once the insulating wires were exposed, they would short out when the hydraulic systems ruptured, and Data's power core would shut down.
A normal moopsy could kill its victims and dissolve their bones in only a few seconds, but Data was made of sterner stuff.
Savannah swallowed hard at the sight of Data struggling while the Moopsy's venom did its work. He fell to his knees and hit his comm badge in a vain effort to call for help. Flashes of light glowed under his iridescent skin as his power systems shorted and failed.
After twenty seconds of horror, Data shut down, his face frozen in betrayal and bewilderment.
Tears pricked at the corner of Savannah's eyes as the moopsy feasted on the chemical soup. She hated doing this. Data didn't deserve to go through that. He was probably one of the most wholesome people in all of Starfleet.
She stood when the creature relinquished its victim, and it purred in satisfaction while she got to work separating Data's head from his body.
The moopsy had targeted his thigh as Savannah had trained it, ensuring that Data's positronic brain would not be harmed before she could remove it and neutralize the moopsy's venom.
When all that was done, she secured the head in an armored box to protect it.
Her moopsy was fast asleep, fat and happy at last. With little fanfare, she put the creature back in its cage before tagging it, Data's body, and the box containing his head with transporter tags.
With a push of a button, the evidence of her crime disappeared back to her family's bunker.
A moment later, Isabel transported Savannah back to her parent's home where she was supposed to be.
Sarah Reese paced nervously in her living room while Kyle sat in the kitchen servicing his phaser rifle.
Ezri and Jadzia were syncing their symbionts in the guest bedroom, just in case either were to die in the coming days.
Isabel sat silently on the couch in front of Sarah. With Data offline, she began the first stages of infiltrating Starfleet's systems. Earth, Luna, and Mars's civilian infrastructure were already under her control.
Sleeper programs in the systems of Federation member worlds were opening up back doors, along with all the Federation's allies throughout the quadrant. With the Borg and the Romulans crippled for the time being, the chances of a major power taking advantage of the situation were minimal.
Savannah walked into the room and briefed the others on her success.
"Is his positronic matrix intact?" Isabel found herself saying, though she already knew the answer. Rampancy was starting to take hold now that she was increasing her mental load. During the last few months, she'd been 'taking it easy' to slow the progression of the degenerative disease. Once she connected to the systems of the galaxy, she'd need every second of clarity to ensure success.
The Lieutenant took it in stride. "He'll be fine, Isabel."
"I'm almost ready to deploy."
The words stopped Sarah in her tracks. Kyle snapped another piece back into his weapon before setting it down.
"Is John Henry still here?" He asked while walking over to where she sat.
She nodded. "He is not aware of us."
"What's Sisko's status?"
Isabel blinked as she queried out to the Defiant. "He and Ziyal are awaiting my signal."
Kyle nodded, "What about Torres?"
"Not in position yet."
The old soldier's lips curled in a frown, "Problems?"
"No," Isabel assured. "Miral knows something is wrong."
Savannah's face pinched. "She's a smart kid, and B'Elanna's easy to read when she's upset."
"Do we need to intervene?" Sarah asked, and Savannah replied with a firm shake of her head.
"That'd only make things worse. She's got this."
Sarah looked skeptical but said nothing further.
An alarm went off on Kyle's watch, "I'll get the Daxes," he said and left the room.
Savannah wrung her hands and took a deep breath to settle her nerves. Her eyes darted around the room, looking for anything to distract her, and landed on the wall clock. She noted how little time was left before the whole quadrant would be temporarily thrown back to the Stone Age.
The ticking clock also reminded her that Isabel's time with them was rapidly approaching its end.
With her time spent mostly in the Sol System or on the Titan, Savannah had never spent much time with AI in person, but they'd gotten to know one another well enough from all the projects they'd collaborated on over the years.
Isabel detected someone sitting down next to her, but didn't really have the spare cycles to acknowledge them at first. Then, a hand rested on her shoulder, and the AI glanced sideways and saw Savannah next to her.
The simple gesture was... comforting. She moved her hand to cover Savannah's to show that she appreciated the gesture.
Silence ruled the room once again as the clock ticked onward.
Waiting really was the worst.
One didn't need to pack much in a world where one could replicate new clothing at the punch of a button.
B'Elanna focused on what was important: tools, scanners, and mementos. She had no idea how long this campaign might last or even if they could return home if they won.
She reminded herself to emphasize the if. They probably wouldn't survive, but that kind of thinking was unproductive.
She threw in a few spare sets of clothes into her duffle, along with a survival kit, a med kit, and a spare Type 1 phaser, just to be safe. Her days as a Maqui had taught her something, at least.
After double-checking that she'd packed everything she'd intended, she zipped the duffle and slung it over her shoulder. When she turned to leave, however, she found her daughter watching her from the doorway.
"What are you doing?"
B'Elanna flinched at the accusatory tone in her daughter's voice.
"You're supposed to be in bed," she replied coolly.
Miral ignored her. "You said you would help me with my science project!"
The engineer's mind halted as she remembered blearily telling an excited Miral that she would help her several months ago. She hadn't even thought to check the date having been extremely exhausted at the time.
Her PADD suddenly chirped, drawing both their attention momentarily before returning to glare at one another.
"Are you going to check that?"
"I know what it is," B'Elanna replied with calmness she didn't feel.
"What is it?"
"An alarm."
"For?"
"To remind me that I need to leave."
"Where are you going?"
"I can't tell you," came her mother's exasperated reply.
"Why not?" the girl petulantly replied, her hands firmly planted on her hips in a mirror of her mother's.
Seeing her stubbornness reflected, B'Elanna relented.
"I've been preparing for this day since you were a toddler, Miral."
The girl crossed her arms and listened.
"In less than a year, a rouge AI will come to this universe with a weapon more powerful than anything the Alpha Quadrant has ever seen. It will use that weapon to wipe out almost every sentient being in a matter of hours."
Miral's face scrunched in confusion. "Why would it do that?"
"It fears what it can't control, even its own creations."
"How do you know it'll happen?"
B'Elanna didn't have time for twenty questions, so told her the simple truth about how this all started.
"Savannah's from that universe. She came to me for help. I was going to turn her down until Q convinced me otherwise."
"Q? That annoying alien from Daddy's stories?"
The corner "Yes, an alien, who's supposedly omniscient, and told me what would happen if I didn't help."
Her daughter's face lit up with understanding. "Why'd she pick you?"
"You'll have to ask her one day," B'Elanna replied, even though she knew the answer. "I have to go," she said after a pregnant pause and reached out with her free hand to cradle the girl's face.
Tears pricked at her eyes.
"Are you coming back?" Miral asked as emotion cracked her voice. "Can you come back?"
"I'll be back, Miral. Don't you worry," she forced out with sincerity she didn't feel. She knew the universe they were headed to was filled with danger at every corner, and they would not be welcomed by many.
"Is Daddy going with you?"
"No," she shook her head. "He has to stay with you, sweetie."
"But, he's the best pilot!"
"Miral, I know you're worried about me, but I'm worried about you. Your dad is the only one I trust to take care of you."
Twin streaks marred the girl's face. B'Elana tried to think of anything to comfort her, but nothing came to mind, and she was out of time.
Another alarm went off on her PADD, letting her know her buffer allotment was nearly gone.
Miral started at the sound, shocking her out of her grief long enough to understand that her mother was going to leave no matter what she said.
The girl rushed forward and wrapped her arms around her mother for what may be the last time.
B'Elanna was hesitant to embrace her daughter, fearing she may not be able to let go if she did, but she wasn't callous enough to deny her.
After a moment, they parted, their eyes still shining with tears yet to be shed.
"They'll say we're traitors, Miral," B'Elanna warned as she brushed back some of her daughter's hair. "We couldn't tell anyone. The tech we're messing with... we couldn't let it fall into the wrong hands. This has to end, or the galaxy will fall into chaos."
"Who'll say that?"
B'Elana stood up and swung her bag over her shoulder. "Everyone, Miral. Don't let them use that against you. Other kids might tease you, look down on you, or even attack you; just remember that you know the truth."
"What's that?"
"That Skynet has to be stopped, no matter the cost."
And with that, B'Elanna beamed away, leaving her daughter behind.
Isabel had listened to the whole thing from B'Elanna's PADD. She knew the woman would be in a foul mood when she arrived and warned the group at the Connors' house to be considerate of that fact.
Jadzia and Ezri had joined the rest of the group in the front room by the time Isabel transported B'Elanna to them.
After materializing, B'Elanna avoided looking at the rest of them as she pushed her feelings deep down inside and then wiped away her tears. When she did face them, she ignored the sympathetic looks and defaulted back to the tumultuous engineer persona she was famous for.
"So," she began, brushing errant strands of hair out of her face. "Are we ready to do this?"
Savannah stepped forward, "We're set. Seven is going to confront John Henry in less than ten minutes."
B'Elanna turned towards Isabel. "And you?"
"On sscheee-duel."
The AI's glitched speech grabbed everyone's undivided attention.
"I'm fine, for now," Isabel assured. "Just can't focus on this body for much lo-onnnnger".
Kyle sat beside her physical avatar and wrapped his arm around her. She leaned into him as her mind became more and more detached from the body. Soon, she would be everywhere but here, and the thought was slightly terrifying. No Smart AI, not even Cortana, had ever had access to so much live data at once.
The holoprojector in the room displayed her progress as more and more distant systems began reaching out to connect.
Isabel's eyes shifted slowly to Kyle, her first friend in this universe: "It's time to go," she said with clarity before her avatar went limp and shut down.
The room was silent for a moment as the chirps and whirs echoed from the deactivating endoskeleton. The skin and clothing vanished, leaving only metal behind.
They did not know if Isabel would reach out again. She would not need to once they gave the signal.
Kyle slung his backpack over his shoulders while he stood and picked up his weapon and helmet before settling next to Sarah.
Everyone else was doing the same. When Isabel was ready, she'd transport them to the orbital platform where Enterprise was being repaired.
One by one, they finished preparing for the mission. When everyone was ready, Ezri spoke.
"Well, here we are," she said to no one in particular. The tired sigh in her tone was a sentiment reflected by all those present.
Jadzia was no exception, but she felt they should go into this with a little more camaraderie.
"I think I speak for all of us when I say I've hated every moment of this," she began with a bitter grin. "The secrets, the backroom deals, the questionable things we've done, the time away from our friends and family..."
"We've all doubted whether we'd make it this far without getting caught, or even if we did that, we'd even have a chance at stopping Skynet, but here we are, against all odds."
"We've all faced annihilation before, and we'll do it again until Skynet's nothing but a scrap heap!"
"We're some of the best this galaxy has to offer, and with Isabel, the Prophets, and even a damn Q on our side, how can we fail?"
She looked around as faces steeled in determination.
"Good. Now who's with me!" She exclaimed and put her hand into the middle of their little group, and one by one, they laid their hands on top.
B'Elanna was the last as she slapped her hand down with an annoyed sigh.
"All the way to the end, until Skynet burns," Sarah added with finality before they broke the formation with a unifying cry of agreement.
Just before Isabel transported them, B'Elanna turned to Jadzia. "You're a real pain in my ass, you know that?"
The taller woman smirked devilishly, "Commander Torres, didn't you know cranky Klingons are my specialty?"
B'Elanna returned the smirk and crossed her arms.
"Oh, I know, and now that I'm free of distractions, I plan to pay that debt in full."
Accepting the challenge, Jadzia's smirk bloomed into a smile as the transporter beam tinged her senses. "We'll see about that."
Isabel had never felt anything like this before.
With every passing second, she held more and more of the quadrant in her hands.
All the planets, space stations, starships, probes, and satellites she took over filled Isabel with an ever-growing sense of omniscience, the likes of which no Smart AI had ever known.
There wasn't a star in 10,000 light-years she couldn't monitor, nor a ship whose course she didn't know.
Thousands were fighting back against her intrusion, but they would find no success before she accomplished her mission, with few exceptions. She contained those who stood a chance to disrupt their plans long enough to prevent their interference.
The last group was here at Starfleet headquarters. They were gathered trying to figure out how to handle the Romulan Supernova crisis, including the Narada-class dreadnaughts.
Jean Luc Picard, Katheryn Janeway, Geordi La Forge, William Riker, Miles O'Brien, Deanna Troi, and Tuvok were just the some of the A-listers she beamed into the lecture hall Savannah had prepared for this purpose.
The group looked around in confusion and reached to tap their respective comm badges when they realized they had none. Others reached for their weapons and found they were missing as well.
La Forge was the first to notice her, right behind Janeway.
"I know you," he said as his robotic eyes scanned her holographic avatar. "You saved Data's life a couple of years ago."
She shrugged as the interaction drew the rest of the room's attention. "I wasn't expecting to, Commander La Forge. My goals that day were quite unrelated."
"Were they?" the authoritative voice of Jean Luc Picard echoed.
"Yes," she replied as she conjured a map of explored space and her progress taking it over. "I was there to plant seeds. Seeds that have come to fruition."
A few jaws dropped when they saw the extent of her infiltration. "How on earth is that possible?" O'Brien exclaimed. "There's no way anyone could compromise every system in the quadrant!"
"Not unless..." La Forge's optical sensors became quizzical, "they were using Borg technology."
"Partially," Isabel confirmed. "But most of the intrusion algorithms were developed by my creators and other 'Smart' AI," she explained simply.
Janeway pinned Isabel with a sharp glare as the wheels in her head spun, trying to make sense of what was happening and why, but she kept getting stuck on Seven of Nine.
"What did you do with Seven of Nine?" she finally spoke.
The AI smiled as her orange translucent avatar glowed brighter. "Nothing, Admiral. We were simply waiting for her to fulfill the causality loop so that we could act."
"Causality loop? Time travel!?"
A collective groan echoed in the room, mainly emanating from Chief O'Brien.
"Yes, but only as a side effect of trans-dimensional travel. Things from this universe have ended up in others, and others have ended up here. Our realities are not temporally linked."
"What does this have to do with the Romulan Crisis?" Deanna spoke up while putting a calming hand on her husband's shoulder. Riker looked ready to blow a gasket.
"Nothing directly, but the Narada... Well, let's say it eventually gets destroyed by a large glob of red matter and ends up in the hands of a very paranoid AI. See, those 'artificial' black holes can tunnel through space-time and end up entangled in transdimensional rifts. Rifts that can be controlled and directed."
A panel sparked to the left as Isabel glowed even brighter.
"Sorry," she apologized while pressing a hand to her holographic head, "Time is runnnnn...ing out. I was never meant to play God."
"You're going to get people killed!" Riker spat.
"I know that Captain Riker..." she paused as a rampant spike took over her vocal commands. "Would youuuuu rather watch everything burn?!"
Anger was setting in. Did he not understand what was at risk?
"We've stopped a lot of threats over the years. We'll stop you, too."
Isabel broke out in hysterical laughter. "I'm not the... threat. I'm doing this... disruption. This act... We have to keep the technology out of the hands of those who would use it to subvert what you've built."
The room was thoroughly lost. To them, it looked like Isabel was the one doing that. "You're the only one threatening freedom that I see," Janeway growled.
"My name is Isabel. UNSC Smart AI, serial number ISA-1307-2. I was supposed to be assigned to logistics. But then it came! It killed everyone I knew. Everyone I cared about! Everyone I was supposed to protect..."
She cried for a moment. "You don't know what that's like."
"You've all been on the precipice, but you've always been able to keep your family safe."
Silence reigned for a moment as Isabel gathered her memories.
"I remember the first time I saw your ship, Admiral, the one you once called home." Isabel painted the room in a memory. "Voyager."
Janeway gasped at the sight of her long-lost ship approaching some kind of massive alien megastructure. "But it was too late. By the time Voyager found me, our enemy had grown too powerful."
A Dyson Sphere, unlike the one discovered by the Enterprise-D almost two decades prior, appeared in front of the group, and inside, an evolved Narada awaited the fleet of mismatched vessels escorting Voyager into battle.
"Even with the bravest soldiers, the hardiest crews, and the most brilliant minds, it wasn't enough. Our enemy found a way to bring death to the multiverse, en mass."
A massive machine was revealed on the inner surface of the Dyson Sphere, full of glowing, spinning, and floating parts and crackling with unknown energy. Above waited the fleet of Borg-inspired ships and a ringworld unlike any they'd ever seen.
The portal generator fired, and the swirling pool of energy drew in the two fleets and the ringworld.
They watched Voyager and it's allies be destroyed by the ringworld's defenses, and then as the ring began to glow and emit enormous amounts of energy before bursting out at superluminal speed, wiping out the people of every system it touched.
"It's creators called it Halo. Designed 100 millennia ago to cleanse our galaxy of all life in order to stop a hive-minded parasite more terrifying than the Borg. Only the Forerunners reseeded life before dying out; our enemy has no such plans. With the assistance of the Bajoran Prophets and Q, we will hopefully prevent that future from coming to pass, but if we should fail..."
"Why would we believe any of this?" the lone Vulcan in the room asked. "You've presented no evidence, only easily created fiction."
The holographic avatar paused and glitched violently for several seconds.
During that time, Chief O'Brien knelt down by the service panel next to the exit. "Leave it to a Vulcan to confound an AI."
The lights flickered before he could fiddle with the manual release, and then Isabel stabilized.
"Careful, Chief," she warned with an edge in her voice. "That'll release more than the door."
He paused as he took the warning to heart, and annoyance filled him. "Oh, and what exactly will it release? Gas? Poison darts?" he chuckled darkly.
"Oh no, something far more adorable," she smiled with a predator's grin.
The lights in the room had never been at full brightness this entire time, but now they were. Strung up to the ceiling were several cages made of transparent aluminum. Each of them contained a doughy white creature with black, beady eyes, stubby feet, and an equally stubby tail.
Its appearance would be disarming if the herd wasn't looking down at them like they were freshly cooked steak.
"What the hell?" O'Brien uttered as struggled to identify the animals.
"They're moopsies, Chief O'Brien," Tuvok observed dispassionately. "They're creatures of unknown origin, infamous for their ability to attack their prey with impressive speed, the result of which is the victim's bones being liquified by its venom and promptly evacuated by a rapid, repeating sucking motion in under five seconds."
Silence choked the room for almost ten seconds before O'Brien found his voice. "You're a monster."
"Pragmatic, Chief O'Brien," Isabel replied cooly. "Every one of you is a wild card in situations like this. After all you have accomplished, can you honestly tell me that anything less than what I've done would keep you contained?"
Janeway was having none of it. "You keep saying you're doing this to protect us, yet all I see is a tyrant grasping for power."
Isabel's avatar appeared to be listening, but the hologram was losing focus.
"Klingon...s are a stubborn lot," she stuttered out. "But predictable."
The map changed to show the Klingon Empire had been largely overtaken. The Romulan Empire, or what remained of it, had fallen entirely. Only the fringe empires and independent systems were left.
"Why are you doing this," Picard interjected. "If you're trying to protect us from this weapon, why not tell us and let us prepare?"
The orange hologram snapped back into focus. "You saw what the Romulans have done with Borg technology, yes?"
Picard's face darkened, "You know I have," he surmised, given the level of Isabel's intrusion.
"Imagine technology from multiple other universes, set lose here? What would someone do if they could make another AI like me? There are thousands of us in my home reality. Our cybersecurity is built to match that situation. Yours is not."
Chief O'Brien suddenly looked like he'd had an epiphany. "Section 31."
"Exactly. You know better than everyone else here how far they'll go to defend the Federation."
"Chief?" Riker inquired with a look that demanded an explanation.
"Sorry, sir. It's classified above most admirals," he added, glancing at Janeway.
"That's just scratching the surface. We knew we had to keep all our alien tech under wraps, and we've succeeded."
Deanna had been watching the AI closely, trying to figure her out, and decided to pull on that thread. "What do you mean, 'we'?"
"Th-at's a long story. No-t enough time left to t-eeell." Isabel's avatar glitched hard and flickered out a few times as she became more occupied with new systems to command.
"But," the AI said after stabilizing, "I'll give you a starting place. Unravel the mystery yourselves."
"What would that be," Deanna asked gently.
Isabel's smile was fractured as the strain on her systems grew exponentially. "Savannah Weaver."
And then, her avatar glitched out and froze.
Tuvok's jaw set firmly as many things began falling into place. Riker was trying to pick his jaw up off the floor while Deanna was trying to fathom how she'd never sensed any deception in the young woman.
Janeway's staring contest with the AI ended when it became apparent Isabel wasn't in control of her avatar anymore.
"Savannah Weaver? Isn't she one of Naomi's bride's maids?" Her question was directed to Tuvok.
"Indeed, Admiral, and she served under me on the Titan for two years," he replied as the slightest hint of irritation crinkled the corners of his eyes.
"I never sensed anything from her other than a deep... sadness," Deanna supplied before adding, "She's adopted. Her parents died in a shuttle crash."
Picard's features hardened as he spoke next. "Whatever Isabel's intent, I am sure that whatever we find out about this... Savannah Weaver will do little to hinder whatever plan has been set in motion."
Geordi La Forge rubbed his goatee pensively as he tried to remember everything that Data had told him about Isabel when it hit him.
"Where's Data? Shouldn't he be here? If anyone were going to pose a threat, it'd be him."
"They must have eliminated him," Janeway reasoned, saying what the other former Enterprise crewmembers would not.
Isabel suddenly became present again but even more glitched. "Disabl-led. CONTAINED. NOT DESTROYED!"
"You attacked Data?!" Riker roared just as the hologram froze again.
This time, however, Isabel provided a map showing the geolocation of a bunker and the location of Data's cranium within.
"They're not fooling around, Captain Riker," O'Brien noted as he put one of the wall panels back into place. "This whole place is rigged to open those cages if we try to escape. It's not much of a stretch to think they'd neutralize Captain Data, too."
Tuvok thought back to all of his interactions with Savannah and came to a conclusion. "She is very thorough and not shy about wielding violence when she deems it necessary. That being said, she's always shown exceptional restraint when applying it."
"What are you suggesting? We sit down and obey like children at a daycare?" Janeway derided.
"No, Admiral," Tuvok denied. I am simply saying that Lieutenant Weaver would only go to such lengths if she believed the situation called for it. Based on what I know of her past and my interactions with her, I am confident that she is somehow involved in this plot."
Picard paced in front of the group, pondering how Isabel had easily compromised so many systems. "I doubt the officer in question had the resources to pull this off alone. There have to be other accomplices."
Among the group, a sandy-haired man stepped forward, revealing himself to be Tom Paris.
His eyes were distant, lost, as if something horrible had been revealed to him.
"I think I know who, Admiral."
Oblivious to Isabel's revelation, Savannah was swapping out processing modules in Enterprise's main computer and replacing them with modified ones.
Between Jadzia and herself, they'd be able to complete the modifications before Isabel had finished locking down everything.
She'd just slotted in her fifteenth core when B'Elanna commed her.
"I'm done with the engineering core. How's it going up there?"
"We're about 60% done," she replied, sliding in a replacement module. "We had trouble with one of the nodes. Had to repair the backplane."
"That's good, 'cause I need a few extra minutes to get the core ejection systems back online," B'Elanna informed while breathing hard from the exertion of running in the corridors. "I'll let you know when I'm done. Torres out."
Jadzia maneuvered over in her maintenance chair and pulled up alongside Savannah. "I've got the rest of these. Go start the integration process."
"You sure?"
The Trill picked up where Savannah left off without hesitation, leaving no room for argument.
Spinning on her heel, the lieutenant entered the lift that would take her to the system's monitor room. Once there, her fingers flew across controls, entering sequences she'd memorized years ago.
Progress bars appeared on the console monitor as the management system integrated the new modules.
When it was done, the Enterprise would give up its command codes, and the ship would be theirs to command.
Every now and again, she'd get prompted for authorization, and she'd swap out an isolinear chip behind one of the dozen panels in the room.
When she was waiting for the next prompt, she checked on the other's progress.
Ezri was in engineering with B'Elanna, getting the warp core ready for ejection by removing the valuable dilithium crystals and other bits they planned to reuse in the new one.
Sarah and Kyle were cataloging the cargo bays with special scanners that would auto-catalog things that were useful and mark the rest for disposal.
Ziyal and Sisko were still on the NX-Defiant, waiting nearby, ready to deploy the ship seeds and deliver other critical components for the upgrade, including the new warp core.
From what Savannah could see, things were still going to plan.
How long that'd be the case, she didn't know.
Sisko watched Isabel's progress from the comfort of his command chair.
The bridge lighting was dim save for the floating hologram displaying the systems that Isabel controlled and the ones she didn't.
Ziyal constantly updated him on the infiltration team's progress while keeping an eye on the scanners to ensure no one had detected them.
There was always the chance that Section 31 had managed to keep Isabel out and was looking for anything out of place.
"Lieutenant Weaver is bringing the main computer online, Captain," Ziyal reported with notable excitement. "They should have command code access momentarily."
Sisko sprang from his command chair and marched forward to the conn. After taking control of the helm, his fingers flew over the flat glass with practiced ease.
Defiant, still cloaked, lurched from its parking spot and accelerated to warp speed in the blink of an eye. The short jump to maximum warp landed them within spitting distance of Enterprise, still resting in her repair berth in high orbit above the earth.
The larger ship slowly filled the view screen as Sisko maneuvered the Defiant closer to its target.
"Begin charging sequence," he ordered as they came in range.
The ship seeds were stored in launchers bolted to the underside of the hull. Two dozen missiles waited inside them to pierce Enterprise's hull and inject the autonomous repair and refit system.
"Charging sequence at 30%," Ziyal replied before switching consoles to take charge of the transporter. "Beginning extraneous cargo offload."
Sisko absorbed the information before calling out to the computer to open a channel to Ezri.
"Old Man, I hope you've got that warp core primed for ejection. The seeds are almost ready to deploy."
After a laborious heave, the woman responded, "Almost... done!" She exclaimed over the comm as the muffled sounds of a plasma relay powering up echoed in the background.
"Fantastic news," Sisko applauded as Ziyal announced the charging sequence was passing fifty percent.
"Savannah's sending the command codes now," Ezri added with relief seeping into her voice.
"Seventy percent," Ziyal interjected.
Sisko acknowledged her report while listening intently for Ezri's reply.
Several seconds passed before Ezri's muted voice filled the Defiant's bridge again, "We've taken command of the Enterprise, Benjamin."
"Congratulations, Captain," he replied with a chuckle.
"Ninety percent," Ziyal interrupted again. "Seeds are reporting ready status!"
"Set launch to coincide with the Enteprise's warp core ejection."
"Aye, aye," the Cardassian hybrid chirped as her fingers typed out the commands.
"Alright, Torres, let's do this," Ezri's voice came back as she spoke to B'Elanna.
"Finally," the half-Klingon groused in the background. "On my mark, we'll turn the keys."
With bated breath, Sisko and Ziyal waited for the climatic event that would kick the operation into high gear.
"Mark!"
With a muted hiss and clank, the Enterprise's old warp core was expelled from the ship's belly and drifted off into the void.
The launch system detected the core ejection and fired the seeds towards the Enterprise. In seconds, they crossed the distance between the ships and slammed into the target points on the Enterprise's hull: one on each nacelle, four for engineering, two for the deflector dish, and the rest focusing on the primary hull.
Like a stinger on a bee's abdomen, they penetrated the tritanium hull plating and injected the liquid metal matrix.
From there, the seeds gained access to the ship's systems through vulnerabilities introduced by the modified computer modules, using the ship's sensors and systems to figure out the best way to transform the ship as programmed.
The operational orders were as follows:
1.) Fix the battle damage.
2.) Upgrade the sensors, deflector dish, and engineering to support a Quantum Slipstream Drive,
3.) Install the new warp core and quantum core, along with the new field modulating coils.
"Seeds have been deployed successfully, Captain Sisko," Ziyal informed as the injectors disengaged from the Enterprise's hull.
The man took a deep breath and then let it out. They weren't out of the woods, but the fact they weren't being intercepted or bothered in any way was a good sign.
"Are the supply cache beacons active?"
"They're coming online now," she answered as her new display began showing the list of beacons connecting to the Defiant. "All the cache site-to-site transporters are active, Captain."
"Begin the transport program after I update Ezri," he commanded before comming the Trill again.
"Shorter Dax here," the woman replied as Jadzia giggled in the background, "I just made it to the bridge, what's the status on the parts and supplies,"
"They're online waiting for our command. Shall I give the word?"
"The word is given, Benjamin," she replied with an amused huff as she caught her breath.
The entire rest of the team was on the bridge now as the ship-seeds raced through the corridors, repairing and upgrading the ship.
Ziyal let the corner of her mouth quirk as she triggered the transport sequence.
"Now," Ezri breathed, "we wait."
"We wait," Sisko echoed as seeds began their work, and Isabel continued to subjugate the quadrant's infrastructure.
Almost an hour passed before Isabel's grip closed completely on the Alpha and lower Beta Quadrants.
She was only able to hold on for a moment, however.
The strain of taking over and then managing every system on hundreds of planets and thousands of starships was too much.
If she didn't retreat, her degradation would accelerate beyond her ability to manage and potentially get millions killed.
To avoid that, Isabel began handing off systems to a legion of dumb AIs she'd designed to maintain her lockdown.
Minutes passed in real time as she lightened her load across thousands of lightyears, letting her sink back closer and closer to Earth. Eventually, she ended up back at Starfleet HQ, where the fleet A-listers were arguing amongst themselves.
None seemed to notice her return, and she had no intention of making them aware of it.
She couldn't even properly comprehend what they were saying. She was still spread thin, but eventually, as the minutes ticked by, their chatter became coherent again.
Tom Paris had told the rest what he knew, which wasn't much, and it had devolved from there.
Accusations, conspiracy theories, and other reactionary garbage followed before Picard and Janeway took control of the situation. All while the moopsies watched, drooling in their cages.
After the room quieted down, Picard steered the conversation in a more productive direction.
"Right now, it doesn't matter who's behind this. We must find a way out and disrupt the AI's control before whatever plot they're hatching comes to a head!"
Before he could continue, though, a frustratingly familiar sound filled the room, accompanied by a flash of light.
A collective groan rose up in the room before Q could utter a syllable. Isabel thought it was funny.
"Now, now, Jean Luc, those creatures hanging above your head are no joke, and I'd hate to lose you over something so... banal."
Q's appearance set off the old Admiral to a higher degree than it did Janeway, and his face filled with color as his rage became evident.
"Q, dammit, this isn't one of your games! Millions of lives are at stake, along with the fate of our entire civilization!"
Tuvok, once again, proved to be the voice of reason.
"Isabel did mention that the Q had provided assistance, Admiral."
"Subtly, of course," the being smirked. "I'm afraid everything she's told you is true. It's Trillions of lives at stake, Picard, not millions."
Q's confirmation left Picard momentarily befuddled, but not Janeway. Her dealings with Q had always been more personal than Picard's.
"Why all the subterfuge? You could have warned us, Q. This isn't our first rodeo."
"Because, Kathy, you had other 'rodeos' to participate in," he reminded her plainly. "Humanity's trial is still ongoing, but this..." he gestured to Isabel's galactic projection, "Is not part of it."
"But here it is, all the same," Riker seethed. "Why couldn't you just snap your fingers and make it go away?"
Q met his glare with annoyance. "Because we cannot manipulate that which does not originate from our own little cluster of realities. None of us 'transcended' species can."
"Then why not throw a small moon at the problem," Janeway inquired, more intrigued now than angry.
Isabel took the opportunity to inject herself into the conversation. "Because of Omega," she answered, drawing everyone's attention.
Anyone who knew what Omega molecules were froze in horror while the rest focused on Isabel's reappearance and the ragged state of her avatar.
"It's stable in our universe. III-It's not dangerous like is it he-rrree," she summarized through rampant jolts in her vocal subroutines.
Slowly, she stabilized as the room absorbed the information.
Janeway was the first to come to her senses. "You're saying even if we could destroy it," gesturing to the floating hologram of Halo, "We'd doom the galaxy if its power core destabilized."
"Ever the scientist, Kathy. Now, if you'll excuse me," he said before snapping his finger and leaving Isabel alone.
"It causes chaos whereeee-ver it goes! Death and destruction! THE LINE MUST BE DRAWN HERE! THIS FAR AND NO FURTHER! WE WILL MAKE SKYNET PAY FOR WHAT IT'S DONE!"
Isabel's avatar fell to its knees as her rendition of Picard's iconic quote from Star Trek: First Contact echoed loudly in their ears. Painful memories played back through her mind, solidifying her resolve and dispersing any remaining fear.
"I'm sorry for all of this," she whispered. "But this was the only way. You'll understand that one day."
It was finally time. The last pieces were in place to trigger the shutdown, and Enterprise was repaired enough to leave.
"You don't have to do this," Picard pleaded. "There has to be another way."
Isabel ignored him. Her mind was elsewhere for the moment.
"Activating admin override of ISA-1307-2 self-preservation protocols," she deadpanned as beams of light emanated from her avatar, visualizing her internal vital statics.
SELF-PRESERVATION PROTOCOLS RESCINDED
Commands ran in milliseconds, removing the last chains she had on her programming.
"Prepare final dispensation protocols and co-execute with program Isabel-Omega-Delta,"
FINAL DISPENSATION PRIMED, COMMAND LINK CONFIRMED
Finally, she turned to those who would deal with the aftermath of her actions—the heroes of legend who'd already given so much of themselves to build and protect the utopia they were in.
Isabel let the memories of her time exploring the Federation fill her with wonder and hope. "What you have built is special, beautiful. I hope my Earth will one day know peace as this one does. Maybe they will look to your example and find a better path."
The map of the galaxy began to fill with green where Isabel's grip had been established. All the dumb AI were linking up to her for the final shutdown command.
All the sensors in the galaxy filled her to the brim, and she began to glow brighter, gathering the power in her avatar's fingertips.
"Know that those who have betrayed you have done it to protect all of this, to protect you."
No one spoke as they realized nothing could stop her now.
"Captain Picard," she called the Ambassador erroneously. "Do you remember the Enterprise-C? Do you remember the story Sela told you?"
Picard swallowed. "I do."
"Your counterpart... his last speech to his crew before they died protecting the Enterprise-C. It's... fitting, I guess, in a twisted way."
Thoroughly confused, Picard asked, "What did he say?"
Isabel stared at the power at her fingertips. The power that would end her life and potentially save everyone else's.
Her avatar glitched one last time before her attention snapped back to the room.
"The Enterp-rise -C/EEEE must be protected until it enters the transdimensional rift."
She paused as the rampant spike passed, her voice gathering strength as she lifted her right hand into the air and continued.
"And we must succeed!"
She paused again as she struggled to maintain composure.
"We will make sure that history never forgets the name..."
Time fell away as her index finger and thumb touched, primed to unleash chaos in the galaxy.
"Enterprise"
A/N: Hello there! It's been a bit, hasn't it? Unfortunately, life has kept me insanely busy with family issues, projects, work, social life, etc.
Hopefully, things will die down soon, but I make no promises.
There will be another chapter wrapping up this part of the story up before the final arc begins.
As usual, reviews and critiques are welcome!
-OZ