Shadows of the Night, Part XXXVIII

Main Unity Shadows of the Night

"Anything?" Han asked.

Luke walked back to where the Falcon waited, then shook his head. "He's alive, but that's all I know."

Chewie let out a quiet roar. "Yeah, we're both sorry for you, Luke." He looked around again. "What do you want to do now?"

Luke walked up the ramp. "There's nothing else we can do," he said, a bitter edge to his voice. "Let's go home."

Thirty Republic capital starships arrived at Deep Space 19 just days after the Borg had traveled through the wormhole; a fortunate thing for them, since they represented the last of the Republic fleet. That's not to say there weren't other ships, but at the moment they were either in the hands of independent worlds or being acclimated into the Imperial navy. Admiral Vacor, who had taken command after the disappearance and presumed destruction of Ackbar and his ship, had come here because -he'd admitted- he had no idea what to do now. He was a soldier, used to finding ways to thwart his enemies. Now, he only knew that his government was under attack and he had no way of knowing who or how to fight.

Leia was heartbroken at the confirmation of her worst fears; the Republic was gone. This small fleet, plus the few that had escaped the initial Borg attack the previous year, was all that remained of their forces. No one admitted allegiance to the Republic, and she was horrified to learn that most of the galaxy had turned to the Empire for leadership during these dark times. Years of labor and sacrifice to topple that evil government, and now it was back as strong as ever. Was there any hope?

There was a small glimmer of hope in fact. Her old friend, Admiral Riklin, had gained a great deal of political pull since he led the victorious attack against the Death Star, and he'd convinced the Senate to contribute a hundred vessels to defend the Republic. While a small number given the scope of the problem, it certainly meant that they had a chance of trying to accomplish something, of perhaps allowing the Republic to maintain a small foothold from which they could grow. If the Empire could come back, she thought optimistically, so could they.

Throughout history there has been a problem with the quartering or positioning of soldiers and other military forces. The issue is not one to be taken lightly, as one can easily point to the examples of history where such positions had important consequences. The lack of troops in China resulted in many deaths during the Boxer Rebellion. At the same time, the very presence of troops in Boston lead to an incident dubbed the "Boston Massacre," with the standard hyperbole of the day; and became a contributing cause of the American Revolution. The question simply is, how to have troops ready to defend, without actually provoking a battle? There remains no easy answer.

There was also no answer as to whether or not the attack on the New Ontario colony was provoked by the presence of the Enterprise in the former Demilitarized Zone, or happened despite it. Riker would leave it up to tomorrow's historians to decide. For now, his concern was in stopping the attack and rescuing the innocent victims on the planet below.

"Evasive maneuvers," Laforge said. The Helium Bombs that the Cardassian's now possessed could easily destroy the Enterprise in a single shot. Fortunately, the weapons were so slow that any evasive ship would never be hit unless it deliberately flew into the torpedo.

"Open a channel," Riker ordered. "Cardassian vessels, this is the USS Enterprise. Withdraw from this world or we will be forced to fire."

After a few seconds: "No response, sir," Lightner reported. "Sir, one of the Cardassian ships fired a torpedo at the surface."

"Phasers," Riker ordered quickly. "Try to shoot it down."

"I can't sir, it's just beyond the horizon."

"Ahead full," Riker said. The great ship accelerated in a vain attempt to reach the torpedo in time.

"Torpedo has impacted," Lightner reported.

Riker shook his head with disgust. "Target the Cardassian ships," he ordered. "It seems they want a fight after all."

The sleek form of the Galaxy-class ship approached the blocky-shapes of the Galors that hovered nearby. Its phaser connected with the closest vessel, causing it to shudder under the impact. The other two had already turned and were quickly moving to Warp, the other doing its best to follow suit.

"Target its engines," Riker said. The phaser struck several times, piercing the shield and causing the Galor to float slowly through space.

"Hit and run," Laforge said. "Maybe they were just trying to frighten the colonies into submitting."

"They did a lot more than frighten," Riker commented. "Send down an away team," he ordered. "They're going to need some help."

Geordi Laforge, Dr. Crusher, Lt. Lightner, Seven of Nine, and several medical and security personnel appeared on the planet below. As feared, the weapon had proved devastating, but fortunately it hadn't actually struck the colony itself. However, given the destructive capabilities of the bomb, that hadn't mattered much. Trained Starfleet personnel are accustomed to putting their fears and hates aside in the face of danger or disaster, but the sight of the collapsed homes, some filling the sky with threads of black smoke, the screams of the wounded, and the sheer level of destruction made it difficult. Professionalism won out, but only just.

While Dr. Crusher and her staff quickly rushed to the aid of a small group of wounded nearby, Seven of Nine had her tricorder out, carefully scanning their immediate area. "Any sign of any residual bomb particles?" Laforge asked.

"None so far," Seven replied. She moved on in the general direction of ground zero while Laforge checked in with Dr. Crusher.

"We're going to set up this area here as a triage center," Dr. Crusher told him as she rushed to stop the bleeding on an elderly man. The artery in his arm must have been severed, and the blood arced through the air with each pumping of his heart; it wasn't pretty. "We're going to need some help on this," Crusher said.

Laforge nodded. "Laforge to Enterprise. It looks like they've suffered some pretty serious damage down here; heavy casualties. I think we're going to need a full-fledged relief ship here to deal with it."

"Acknowledged," Riker's voice said over the comm.

"Commander," came Seven's voice almost immediately after, "I'll need a transporter lock."

"You found some bomb material?" he asked as he gestured for the security members to follow.

"Almost a gram," Seven said.

"That much?" Laforge said with disbelief. "How stable is it?"

"Unknown, although I'll try not to sneeze for the next few minutes."

"Will the transporter destabilize the fragment?"

She thought for a moment. "I'm not sure, but it's the best shot, sir," Seven remarked. "Right now a heavy footstep nearby could set it off, assuming it isn't an impurity."

"You don't know for sure?"

"I'm doing passive scans," Seven said. "I can go active if you like, but if it starts raining nanoprobes you'll know what went wrong."

"Transporter Room 1," Laforge said, "Lock on to the sample and beam it into space."

"Be careful," Seven warned. "There's heavy ionic activity this close to the blast site."

After the bomb fragment was disposed of the group continued their effort at finding and treating the wounded. It was sickening; it seemed almost no one had escaped injury during the single attack. Laforge directed two of the crewmen to start clearing debris that was blocking a door while he rushed over to help others carry a woman out on a stretcher over some rubble.

"Commander," Dr. Crusher said, "Any word on when that relief ship will be arriving? We're running out of space on the Enterprise and the area's filled with wounded."

"They're on their way, doctor," Laforge said as he helped push some of the beams out of the way. He reached over and pushed the door controls, but nothing happened. He pushed it again.

"The controls for the door have been disabled," Lightner said, looking at his tricorder.

"Anyone in there?" Laforge asked.

"Nine," Lightner said. "Looks like one of the other buildings fell on this one; the rubble collapsed some of the walls and ceiling."

Laforge thought quickly as he watched several more screaming and moaning people being led towards their makeshift camp. "Phaser?" he asked.

"Not sure how stable it is," Lightner replied. "Transporter would be safer."

"Can't chance it with the ionization," Laforge said. "Plasma cutter should work."

"It'll take time," Lightner pointed out.

"Maybe, but it's the safest course."

"Commander," Seven said as she came up, "no other signs of bomb material in the area."

"That's the first good news I've heard all day," Laforge remarked, tapping his communicator. "Enterprise, send down a plasma cutter, we need to cut through a door."

Seven looked over at the structure. "This door?" she asked.

"Controls are damaged," Lightner said. "And there are wounded in there."

Seven looked at the door carefully as the sound of the transporter temporarily drowned out the wails from the injured. As Lightner went to pick it up Laforge saw Seven walk up to the door. In a flash her left fist jerked out and her assimilation tubules pierced the wall just over the housing of the door controls. After a few seconds there was a grinding sound and the doors finally strained opened several inches. "Good work," he commented as he grabbed one side of the door while Seven grabbed the other.

"I'm a girl of many talents," she said as they heaved and pulled it open, rushing to find several seriously injured people inside. One had already perished, but it looked like the others might have a chance, and they helped move them out of the building towards the camp. As they walked over they watched the shimmer as dozens of personnel suddenly beamed into the area, ready to help supplement their own relief efforts. One of the officers stepped over to Laforge.

"Luis Mendez," he said shaking his hand. "USS Hood. What's the situation?"

"Cardassian attack," Laforge replied. "Colony's been partially evacuated but it's going to take some time."

"We'll start transporting some of the more seriously wounded to our ship," Mendez said. "In the meantime, we'll need you to continue your evacuation efforts, commander."

Laforge nodded and moved his team back into the colony, looking for survivors. "Laforge," came the message over the comm. "Some of the Cardassians have beamed down to the surface, probably armed."

"Oh good, I was afraid this was going to be too easy," Laforge said with weariness. Hopefully the ions from the bomb helped interfere with their transporters enough to cause a few mishaps. Laforge never wished ill on anyone, but in a combat situation with civilians at risk, he'd take every edge he could get. The group pulled out their phasers and started their return to the main portion of the colony. As they approached there was a few low moans from a nearby structure, and carefully they moved in to check it out. More wounded, Laforge noted grimly, holstering his phaser for a moment to take a closer look. One of them was bleeding pretty bad. "Take them back to the triage," Laforge ordered as he pulled out his phaser again. They followed the group to the edge of the building as they carried the wounded, Seven and himself staying near the building to watch for any Cardassian ambushes. Unfortunately, they were looking in the wrong direction.

"Turn around slowly," came the guttural Cardassian voice, and the two held up their hands as they faced their captors.

"Officers," one of them remarked. "They'll make better hostages than the colonists."

"Agreed. Drop your weapons." They did as they were told, Laforge kicking himself for allowing the situation to get this bad. He lowered his hands a little as their attention waned, but Seven kept hers the same, widely spread with her palms facing the Cardassians. Is she going to try it? he wondered. Suddenly there was a muffled crunching sound. "Someone coming?" one asked as he quickly turned around.

Immediately Seven dropped her right hand into a fist and pointed the plasma discharger at the other Cardassian, the green blast connecting before he could pull the trigger. At the same time the discharger exploded, causing Seven to cry out in pain as she grabbed her hand. Laforge, seizing the opportunity, snatched up his phaser and fired into the other Cardassian as he turned back to shoot. He rushed over to Seven, looking at the burnt flesh. Visible now was the network of tendons and circuits that were underneath, and he could see from her grimace she was in excruciating pain. His eyes alert, he started leading her back towards the triage. As they walked several more Cardassians came around the corner, but before they could see them he fired. He had no choice really; Seven needed to see a doctor right away and the situation was hostile. Still, he didn't like it.

"What happened?" Dr. Crusher asked as she rushed over to Seven, her medical tricorder out.

"Our first field test was only partially successful," Seven said, her voice shaking with agony.

"Lightner," Laforge ordered. "We're not going to get anything done with those Cardassians causing trouble. Take your team, flush 'em out. Try not to kill any more than you have to, there's been enough death here for one day." Lightner nodded and gestured for his security detail, who quickly moved into action. In just over an hour, the remaining Cardassians were either dead or held in a makeshift security zone, allowing the relief effort to continue without interruption.

After fourteen hours the colony had finally been evacuated, thirty-seven thousand, eight hundred and nineteen people. The time to take to rebuild would be months if not years, and these people would probably never forget this day for the rest of their lives. And it was all the result of something that took less than a second to act, Laforge thought bitterly.

Luke watched the drones move slowly across the garden towards him, and he lifted his lightsaber in anticipation. Not here, he thought emphatically. You may have assimilated the Enterprise and taken the rest of the galaxy but Vulcan is my home now, and you won't get it without a fight. He moved quickly, slicing down the drones as they approached, his green blade dancing through the air. He raised his saber as the next approached, and hesitated. "Annika," he said in disbelief.

7 of 9 cocked her head. "Lower your weapon and surrender."

Luke's arms dropped and he stumbled back, her eyes never leaving him. "No," he said as he looked into her beautiful face, now lifeless.

"Your assimilation is inevitable," she said. "Your resistance is futile." She started to move towards him.

His vision blurred from the tears as he continued to step away. "Please Annika," he said desperately. "Remember who I am."

She tilted her head. "You are Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight, sibling of the head of the Republic." She paused as she consulted with the Collective. "Your distinctiveness will be added to our own perfection."

"Annika," he said, holding on to the last shred of hope. "Please... I love you."

Her face never changed. "Love is irrelevant." She walked towards him, and he slowly backed away. "We have taken the galaxy," she said. "World after world has fallen before us. We are now one mind with one purpose. There is nowhere you can go to escape us, and even if you did, what purpose would you have? We know you have lost all that mattered to you. Become one with us; it is the only way you will ever be with her again."

"No," Luke said with a desperate choke in his voice. "I won't help you!"

"You will," 7 of 9 said. "You will become one with the Borg. You will help us move towards perfection. Resistance is futile," she closed in, "sweetie."

Luke ground his teeth and swung, separating her head from her shoulders. As her body fell he dropped to his knees, shaking with grief. When he looked up, he saw her head lying near him, almost as if she were still watching him, accusing him. You had the power to prevent this, she seemed to be saying. Is this what it means to be a Jedi? To abandon the people you care about? You said you loved me... did you mean it? Or was that true only from "a certain point of view?"

Luke looked up further, and there were more drones... more of the ones responsible for this. He got to his feet, and a murderous rage filled him. He screamed as he charged, cutting them down with blackness in his heart, reveling in the chance at revenge. And with each passing moment he felt stronger, the Dark side filling him. They were on all sides, but it didn't matter; he was invincible. With power like this, there was nothing that could stop him from punishing everyone responsible for ruining his life! Borg, Imperial, Federation, all of them would die!

The scene faded away into darkness, and Luke stood there, alone with his thoughts. No symbolism this time, nothing but a vision of what the future could hold for him. There's no right answer, Luke, he thought. Ben, Yoda, they're right. You're so afraid to lose her... no matter what you do, that fact is undeniable. All you can do is learn how to let her go... except, he loved her so much! It would be next to impossible. The only way he could do it would be leaving her; he knew it. Otherwise, he was only going to hold onto her tighter. "Why?" he asked the darkness, his voice saturated with grief. "Why can't you just let us be happy?" But it didn't answer him. He shook his head in grief. He had to leave her... it would kill him, but he had to leave her.

Riker rubbed his eyes in his ready room as he continued looking over Laforge's report on the evacuation. Incredibly, only fourteen percent fatalities, a good percentage considering the devastation of the weapon that was dropped on New Ontario. His people had done well, he noted with approval; their time in dock hadn't taken the edge off at all.

It was these Cardassians that troubled him. This insanity was a direct result of the splintered forces that were fighting for control of the former Cardassian territory. He had always thought Cardassians were a problem, but he hadn't realized just how short a leash the Central Command had kept on them. While the piracy had diminished over the past year it still wasn't that uncommon, and unprovoked attacks like this, pointless destruction really, was starting to become eerily common. The whole universe has gone mad, he thought with exhaustion.

Fortunately there was a bit of good news. Apparently, not wanting to look horrible next to the Romulans, the Federation had finally agreed to give a small fleet to the Republic to deal with their problems. In just a few days the Enterprise would be traveling to Deep Space 19, hopefully to finally do something about the Borg. Say what you want about them, but at least the Borg don't perform acts of destruction for its own sake.

He continued reading the report on the rescue efforts at the settlement, and something suddenly clicked. He slowly lowered the PADD as he rolled it over and over in his mind. "Oh... my... God," he said slowly. "That's it." And suddenly his exhaustion was gone as he laughed and smacked his desk in exhilaration. "That's it!"

Go To Part XXXIX
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