Shadows of the Night, Part XII

Ysanne Isard was strapped immobile in restraints when the Blessed One walked into the room. They'd left the Lusankya days before, but their current position was unknown; not that it would have done her any good to know. "I wanted you to see this," the Blessed One said, activating the screen. The battle at Wormhole Station played out on the screen. "Note this," the Blessed One said, and the image zoomed in on a Borg Cube. For no discernible reason it was battered across space and collided with another. The image quickly shifted, revealing an X-Wing. "Exactly as expected," came the chilling voice.

Isard said nothing, though she had no choice, since a gag was stuffed into her mouth. "It was the point you could never get, Ysanne," the Blessed One said, pacing quietly. "Subtlety. You treated every obstacle like a wall that required a sledgehammer, never as a door that required a lockpick. Look at what we've done." Ysanne watched her captor admire the handiwork. "The manipulations were so slight... a few Borg components, an invasive program to disrupt the holonet, and from these small and insignificant things, we've managed to push the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy in the direction of the Dark side..." The voice was quiet by Ysanne's ear. "Can you imagine what he could do for our cause? After all, his father had certainly proven an asset." The Blessed One walked away. "I want you to think about this, Ysanne, and think hard. Perhaps, in time, I can let you out of those restraints, let you help me voluntarily instead of forcing me to use your own less-than-subtle means against you."

"I thought the Enterprise-D was beyond repair," Riker said as he looked again at the ship, unable to believe it.

"It was," Jellico replied. "I put the remains in mothballs, just in case we wanted it as a museum piece. But, I had some ideas on redesigning the Galaxy class, and well, I thought there was no one more worthy than the Enterprise."

"Did you rebuild the stardrive?" Laforge asked. "The other one was vaporized."

"I used the drive from the Swansea," Jellico replied. "We've obviously made some modifications. For starters, we've upgraded her with a hyperdrive, replaced a lot of the crew quarters with secondary shield generators. We've boosted the power phenomenally, and we've taken a lesson or two from the Republic in weapons design."

"You are referring to the cannon located below the saucer section?" Seven asked.

Jellico turned to her. "Very observant, commander. The new design doesn't allow for separation, but she's got a hell of a bang. Believe me," he said with a smile, "the Borg won't be ignoring that!"

"I can't believe it," Picard whispered.

"Believe it Jean-luc," Jellico said, turning back to the ship. "The Enterprise is back, and ready to teach the Borg a lesson." Jellico went back to describing the ship, but Picard showed no interest. He finally turned and slipped out of the room. As he went down the hall, he heard the footsteps of someone running towards him, and saw that it was Riker.

"Something the matter?" Riker asked as he fell into step with Picard.

"You could say that," he replied.

"What's the problem?"

Picard stopped. "'Tell me O spirit, are these shadows of the things that must be...'"

"Jean-luc," Riker asked, an edge of worry to his voice. "Are you all right?"

"It's all happening," Picard said, almost ignoring Riker. "Everything is happening exactly as I saw it."

"Jean-luc," Riker repeated. "What's happening? What are you talking about?"

Picard looked at Riker, as if just hearing him for the first time. "Everything Q showed me about the future."

Suddenly, it clicked. "Stardate 47988."

"Exactly," Picard replied heavily. "I was a former ambassador; I was tending my family's vines because there was no one else to do it. Geordi, he didn't have his visor, he had eyes. I remember- I remember traveling at Warp 13. I remember our relationship with the Romulans had improved but with the Klingons had deteriorated. Deanna Troi was dead. And I remember, there was a Galaxy class starship called Enterprise with three nacelles." His head spun a little as he thought about it some more. "Don't you see Will? It's all happening."

"What if it did?" Riker replied. "I mean, it wasn't as if your view of the future was a terrible one. In fact, it shows that we'll prevail against the Borg; that's got to be comforting." He smiled. "And I become an admiral, if I remember the story correctly."

"You don't understand," Picard replied. "Everything is correct except for one detail, one person who's missing from the puzzle."

Riker thought a moment and realized. "Data."

"Exactly," Picard continued. "Data was there, except he perished with the Death Star."

"So," Riker replied, "I guess that means your view of the future isn't complete."

"That would be true, except for Mr. Laforge's discovery."

Riker thought about what he might me. "You're not talking about the transporter beam on the Death Star?"

Picard continued, even more adamant. "Everyone's been assuming it was the Emperor, but it can't be him. But no one saw Data die, we all just assumed he did. But what if instead he transported his mind out of the Death Star to escape."

"Jean-luc," Riker replied. "That's a pretty big leap of logic. We've seen no evidence that Data survived and it's been years. He'd have found a way back to us by now."

"Except for one detail," Picard said. "The beam was aimed towards the delta quadrant. He could easily have become lost there, waiting for someone to find him."

"Look, Jean-luc," Riker replied, "I want to believe you, but even if you had real evidence for this, the delta quadrant is enormous, and it's now under the control of the Borg. We have to face reality."

"You face reality," Picard said, walking off, "I'll face the future."

Leia was just putting the finishing touches on their living quarters on Earth. It had taken some getting used to to look at a different sky, different people, different sensations. Still, for the immediate future this would be their home, and she insisted on making it just that. She heard the door chime and turned to see who the visitor was. Strange, she could sense his nervousness clear through the door without even trying; but she could tell he was no threat. She opened up the door and greeted the tall nervous man.

"Um... hello," he said. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Leia looked at him, his hands visibly shaking. "I assume then, that my reputation precedes me?"

"Yes, yes!" he said. "Hello, ambassador."

"Hello." She waited. "And you are?"

"Oh, uh, Reginald Barclay, Lt. Reginald Barclay, I'm with, that is to say, I work in, for, in, Starfleet."

Leia nodded. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yes! I mean, I have something that, it's about the Borg, um..."

"The Borg," Leia asked, surprised.

"Yes. I have a plan, well an idea, an idea that could be turned into a plan, provided we approved of the idea and how to execut-"

"Why don't you come inside," Leia offered.

"Yes, that would be good." Barclay walked with great unease to the sofa and carefully sat down. His discomfort was obvious even if she weren't a Jedi.

Leia took a seat across from him. "So, you were saying something about the Borg."

"Yes. The Borg. As you know, or I assume you know, the Borg are..." he gestured with his hands in an interlacing gesture a few times, "they're a collective."

"So I've noticed."

Barclay pointed at her. "Right, of course you know that. Um, the thing is, the Collective is connected through a sub-space link, this carrier wave that the Borg use." He fumbled with his fingers as he continued talking. "I think I've found a way," he held up his finger, "mind you this is only theoretical, I think we might be able to create a sub-space scanner to pick up these, these um, Borg, signals."

Leia was clearly interested in the concept, although she had to admit she wondered about the man who had the idea. "Have you spoken to Starfleet about this?"

Barclay began stumbling and closing his eyes frequently as he continued. "Well, yes, um, I spoke with, with my superiors. They don't see the practicality of this; but I know that you were responsible for several joint Federation-Republic scientific efforts."

"The Republic doesn't have much to contribute these days," Leia said.

"I, I, I'm aware of that." He paused. "But, all the more reason to, to, to try this. We can find out what the Borg are up to and possibly prepare a defense."

Leia thought about the idea. It sounded ludicrous, but there was no sense in ignoring a potential advantage. "I'll consider your offer Mr. Barclay."

He stood up awkwardly. "Um, good. Thank you, miss, misses um, ambassador." And he stumbled his way out of the room. Leia smiled a little as he walked out. This had taken a great deal of courage for him to come to a stranger like this. She had to at least consider it.

"Threepio," she called. The golden android shuffled into the room. "Threepio, I need to arrange a meeting with some of the top Federation minds on the Borg as soon as possible." She watched as the droid went to make the arrangements. Perhaps this was the beginning of the answer she'd been hoping for. Perhaps it would reveal more about this Anansi business as well.

Thrawn walked onto the bridge of his flagship, the Vendetta. Operations continued smoothly with or without his presence, his officers keeping his men at the peak of performance. They were a tribute to the New Empire, the Empire under his command, and an Empire which seemed to be continuing its growth.

"Sir," Captain Jarrol said as soon as he saw Thrawn standing there, "Admiral Nemit reports that there are now over fifty worlds which wish to join the Empire."

"It seems our reputation has grown," Thrawn commented. "Although I wonder how effectively we can defend so many systems without leaving ourselves as vulnerable to the Borg as the New Republic was?"

Captain Jarrol's smile was gone and replaced with a look of uncertainty. "You wish to decline their admission?"

"No captain," Thrawn replied patiently. "I want them to understand that we will need immediate resources if we're to find the ships and troops to defend that many systems from the Borg. I'm not willing to risk the security of the Empire for the sake of a few worlds that are too self-involved to contribute to the war effort." His stare drilled into Jarrol. "Make sure Admiral Nemit understands that."

"Yes sir," Jarrol replied, still uncertain. The other officers in the area pretended to not have noticed, but it seemed they shared his surprise.

"One thing we seem to have forgotten," Thrawn said, raising his voice, "is how we've achieved what we now possess. We are the undisputed rulers over this section of space, yes, but we have built it through reputation gentlemen. If you had learned anything at all from the people of this part of space, you should know they fear and respect the Borg. We have defeated them on numerous occasions, and now they fear and respect us. A strategic blunder against the Borg will not only cost us our ships, equipment, and lives, but also the support we need to rebuild. Don't let your confidence cause foolishness, or this last remnant of the Empire will be gone forever." His voice returned to normal. "Believe me, the Borg are far more cunning than you realize."

The crewman from Utopia Planetia led the way into the room. "Here you are, commander," he said to Seven as he showed her her new quarters on the Enterprise-D. "The admiral wasn't sure if you'd prefer an alcove or a bed, so he included both."

"This is adequate," Seven said, examining the room. "I will make the appropriate adaptations in time. That will be all, crewman." He nodded and left. She placed the satchel on the bed and walked over to the alcove; it was sufficient for her needs. Her first reassignment as an actual member of Starfleet, though it was little in the way of change. The most pronounced difference would be the friends lost against the Borg. Seven's face became more downcast. Well, not friends... colleagues. There were few that Seven would actual provide with the label of "friend."

That brought her back to the satchel. She almost hadn't made it, but the thought of the Borg possessing it had been too much for her to bear. She sat down on the bed and opened the satchel and carefully pulled out the book. She placed it gently on the bed and looked at it.

"What is it?" Seven asked as Data handed her the wrapped package.

"A gift," Data said. "Soon after I became science officer of the Enterprise, Commander Riker provided me with one as a jocular introduction to my position. It was a bound paper copy of the book Pinocchio. It was a parallel, you see, between the title character's plight to be a real boy, and my own to become more human. I thought it would be an appropriate gesture for me to present such a gift to you as you take my former post."

"That is... thoughtful," Seven said as she removed the paper. "Die Unendliche Geschichte," she read the book title aloud. "I assume you have likewise chosen this as a jocular introduction?"

"Yes," Data said. "I have identified eleven different parallels between yourself and the story, but to summarize: it is the story of a boy who learns of a fantasy land through a book. Inside, he discovers a woman in the form of a little girl who is empress of the land, living in an ivory tower. To save the land, he must give her a name."

"I being the woman in the ivory tower," Seven said. "As a representation of my obsession with scientific pursuits over human matters, an 'ivory tower intellectual.'"

"Yes," Data said. "And like her, you are in many ways enigmatic, due to your dual human and Borg natures. And the boy-"

"I would prefer reading the book and discovering the parallels myself, Data."

"Of course," Data said. "As I said, however, it is also an attempt at humor. Commander Riker did not intend for me to assume that I was a puppet."

"No, of course not," Seven said. "I am touched by your careful thought, Data; you have sought out a gift based upon your strong insight into my character. I will cherish it always, and have it serve as a reminder of our friendship."

"I am glad, Seven," Data said with a nod.

"What name does he give her?" Seven enquired.

"Moonchild," Data said.

"That name is absurd," Seven said. She looked at the cover and saw the boy riding a hairy beast. "What of the boy?"

"His name is Bastian," Data said.

Seven ran her hand over the figures that adorned its cover. "It is a good name," she said after a brief time.

Seven looked at the characters on the cover of the book. "I wish I could speak with you, Data," she said. "He has re-entered my life after so long... I would like to have your guidance." She closed her eyes, reflecting on the months they'd worked together on the Enterprise. "Despite everything, you will always be my friend." She wet her lips. "After a time, I had stopped thinking about him. I became more and more devoted towards my work, and my efforts towards achieving perfection. But then he was here, and it reminded me of those days. I feel so many emotions, Data... I envy you your ability to turn them off, as they are a powerful distraction to me." She covered her face with her hand. "The paradox of emotion still looms over me. Part of me wants to pull him close, and part of me wishes to push him away." She turned back to the book. "Part of me wants to stay in my ivory tower, and part wants him to give me a new name."

On the other side of the galaxy, a Borg ship's construction was finally at an end. At fifty kilometers in length, it was the largest ship the Collective had ever built; what's more, it was unlike any other ship they had built. One might attribute this to its peculiar shape, a tetrahedron, each side identical in size and shape, each covered with a thick layer of armor, and staffed by over twenty million drones. And yet, this was not the only thing that made this ship special.

As it moved away from the Unicomplex a few Cubes, tiny by comparison, fell into formation around it. And then the tiny fleet entered hyperspace. The time had come to test Pyramid 01, and again show that resistance was futile.

Go To Part XIII
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