LC 55: We are the (mirror Borg) (version II)

Captain's Log. The Viper is patrolling in the B'tran cluster, keeping an eye out for any Borg incursions and aiding any political unrest in the area, as directed by Admiral Rykon on the U.S.S. Hailstorm. Though we have not been in space for long, we have yet to encounter any trouble.



As the Defiant class ship passed through the void between star systems, Talaina shifted slightly in the chair. The ache from her injuries was minimal now, and her exercises were helping her get back to fighting form. And the sparring with Ttorkkinn helped. Her missing antenna was growing back in nicely, but was still a nub and buried under her white hair. A beeping from the science station snapped her attention to the Vulcan male, T'Fon, waiting for him to report. "Captain, sensors have picked up an interspatial rift. It appears to share properties with those found in the Azure Nebula." Talaina frowned slightly at the news. "Are Tholians nearby?" Ttorkkinn checked his own sensors. "No Sir. No ships on sensors. And we aren't near any star systems. Or nebulae. We're out in the void away from anything."


Talaina nodded as she processed this quickly. "How far away are we?"
"0.5 light years." the Vulcan replied.
"Then take us in and go to Yellow Alert."


The dark hulled ship dropped from warp, approaching a large electrical field in space. Lightning bolts erupted out into the blackness of space, snapping back to launch themselves in another direction. The centre of the storm was a blue cloud, impossible to see anything inside it. Scans of the field did reveal a small solid object inside, the size of a small asteroid or space station, but readings proved very inconclusive. As the Viper held its position, Talaina ordered a full range of sensor scans.


As she waited for the results to come in, Xui Li did warn that the Viper's sensors were not as advanced as those on the Sentinel had been, and they would most likely not be able to penetrate the field. "Captain, I, ah, am detecting a breathable atmosphere within the field. It, ah, appears there are thousands of life signs within a, ah, metal structure. But we are unable to, ah, gather any further details at this distance." Talaina cast a glance over to Xui Li. "Would a probe be able to get through that field?" Xui Li shook her head. "No Sir. There are too many, ah, gravimetric fluctuations. A probe would be crushed. However, the ah, Viper itself would be able to."

"Now hold on a moment." Ttorkkinn turned fully to face the others. "We don't know what that thing would do to us. We take the ship in there, we may not come out. We should at least study this thing further before we take the ship in."

Jenna spoke up from the helm. "Captain, we're being hailed."
"From where?"
Jenna frowned as she checked her instruments. "Origin is the centre of that field."
"On screen."



A human male appeared on the screen. He wore very ornately decorated robes and spoke with a cheerful, yet booming voice. "Hello and greetings to the Great Beyonders. We have waited for you. Hallowed are the Omega."

Talaina stood to focus attention on her.

"I'm Captain Talaina Kazzur of the Federation Starship Viper. Do you require any assistance?" The man paused, clearly a little puzzled by the statement. "Federation? What's that? We're here for The Great Convergence."
"I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about. Perhaps if you could explain who you are?"
"Come. Join us. Be one with The Great Convergence. Know unity. Know peace. Be one with Us."


A strange sensation came over Talaina. A slight numbness in the back of her head was quickly ignored by how empty her life felt. She had no friends. No family. She was alone. It hurt her and she needed more. She needed to join them. "We will be there shortly."
"Fantastic!" the man grinned. "I look forward to welcoming you."

As the viewscreen went blank, Talaina ordered a course straight into the heart of the storm. Jenna plotted it without question, also feeling the need to be one with them. Only T'Fon seemed worried by this. "Captain. Is it wise to so willingly fly the ship directly into such a phenomenon based purely on the words of a character that has obvious questionable motives?"
"Yes T'Fon. It's wise. It's the wisest thing we've ever done." Talaina opened a comm to the rest of the ship and played the man's message to the rest of the crew. As they heard it, every single person stopped what they were doing, becoming overwhelmed by the desire to meet that man.



The Viper moved into the storm, the occasional lightning strike flowing across the hull and causing minor damage, but nothing serious. The blue cloud gradually became thicker, but the ship glided through towards the centre. Jenna brought the ship to a stop near what could only be described as a dodecahedron over two miles in size, composed of a dark metal. The surfaces of the shape expanded, growing at an even rate to transform the station into a rhombicosidodecahedron before collapsing down into a icosahedron, growing once more into the rhombicosidodecahedron and collapsing back into the dodecahedron and repeating the process in a very fluid manner. T'Fon raised an eyebrow at the image. "Impressive. Such a feat of engineering is beyond all known species."
Talaina opened a comm. "All crew, prepare to beam down. We will be One with The Great Convergence. Hallowed are the Omega." T'Fon turned to his Captain. "Sir, I must protest this course of action. We-"
"Do you not feel it T'Fon? Can you not tell what we meagre species have sought all of our lives is on that station? Can you not comprehend?"

T'Fon did feel something in his mind. Something was telling him exactly what Talaina was saying. That the answers to everything were on that station. And he must admit, it took all of his mental discipline not to give in to it. Something was obviously influencing the crew. And whatever it was, it was coming from down there. "Yes Captain, I can. But I suggest we only send a very small party first, to ensure it is not a trap, and we will not be leaving the Viper in danger."
"Very well. Xui Li, Grimworm and I will beam down."
"Captain, I have extensive knowledge on such matters. May I suggest only you and I beam down?"
"What's wrong? Don't you trust them?"
"I simply prefer to err on the side of caution."
"Very well. You and I will go and ensure it delivers everything it promises."

As T'Fon stood, he knew this was going to be an interesting mission.







The transporter beam put the two officers down on a raised stage. T'Fon quickly looked around to get his bearings. In front of the stage stood millions of beings, most of them humanoids of species from across the galaxy, some hortas, even animals were present. Every single one was dressed in white robes with gold trim, with suitable adaption made to the non humanoid species robes, and each one was stood in rows facing the stage. The room was an odd mix of the same metal the hull was comprised of, and stone masonry. Arches and pillars ran along the room, reaching back further than T'Fon could see. As he lifted his gaze upwards, he could see thousands more people lining the walls, every single one staring at them with the exact same expression, the exact same pose. The man from the viewscreen walked towards them. "Hello my friends! Welcome! I'm glad you joined us."
Talaina shook the man's hand. "I'm honoured to be here. We have heard your message, and we will join your collective."
T'Fon decided to interrupt. "Forgive my lack of knowledge, but what exactly is this place?" The man simply spread his arms as he looked around at the masses before him. "This? This is the Temple of Omega. For we are The Borg. The worshipers of Omega. Perfection itself. Soon, The Great Convergence will be upon us. Our temples will spread to all worlds, across all dimensions, and they will spread our message of truth. Everyone will become one with The Borg. Hallowed are The Omega." Everyone started chanting at once, in perfect unison, even Talaina.
"Hallowed are the Omega. Hallowed are the Omega. Hallowed are the Omega."


"You mentioned the Great Beyonders. May I ask who are they?"
The man turned to face the Vulcan. "You ask a lot of questions. Are you truly one of us?"
"Yes." he replied, very calmly. "I simply wish to understand the truth."
"Good man. We always want to know the truth. It is said The Great Beyonders are those who will open the doorways for the soldiers of Omega to march to those worlds untouched by Omega, those worlds living in darkness and fear. They are the ones who will allow the Temples to fly across all of reality and spread our message. Our message of truth. Of wisdom. Everyone who hears our message will become one with The Borg."


The man walked past T'Fon to a gold altar, with carvings depicting the Omega molecule. "We will walk through shadows and flames, a 'Crusade of Light', and those who do not believe will be destroyed. Omega will know all. Omega will unify all. Great ships will be flown to cast asunder those who refuse to hear Omega's words. We are the soldiers of Omega. We are the Borg. Resistance is futile."


The man placed his hand on the altar, causing the temple to tremble. Assimilation tubes shot out of the altar, locking the man in place. The stage started to open as everyone started chanting again. From beneath the stage, a powerful subspace transmitter rose up, already coming to life. It displayed some molecules that shone with Godly light, holding position in a perfectly stabilised sphere. The man gazed upon the vista. "Hallowed are the Omega!"



T'Fon saw his chance. He performed a neck pinch on Talaina, catching her as she collapsed and slipping the knife from her belt before launching it at one of the power insulators of the transmitter. Fire erupted from the device, the Omega molecules already starting to destabilise. The man whirled angrily towards T'Fon. "What have you done? You're not Borg! KILL HIM!"
T'Fon started moving backwards quickly as the millions started rushing the stage in a surprisingly ordered riot. Slapping his communicator, he ordered a beam out.


Appearing on the Viper's bridge, he carefully dropped Talaina and noticed everyone seemed dazed. Ignoring them, he ran to the helm and pushed Jenna aside, firing up the engines to get them out of there. He could see thousands of identical temples floating here, each one surrounded by its own lightning storm, each one ready to leave this universe and spill out into another. He only hoped the distortion was a two way street. The temple flashed, Omega going critical. The blast wave spread out, causing a chain reaction in the other temples. The ship shook as lightning struck the hull and the instant they were clear, T'Fon triggered a jump to warp, escaping an explosion that could be seen throughout the sector, brighter than any star.






A few hours later, the Viper returned to the area. The effect of the Borg?s message was wearing off now there was nothing being transmitted. Talaina sat in her Captain's chair, rubbing her throbbing head. "So you're telling me, these Borg were from another universe and were essentially knights of old earthen legend, on a crusade in the name of something called Omega?"
T'Fon nodded. "That is correct Sir."
"And they used some form of brain washing embedded in the initial contact to.... what? Assimilate us to their cause?"
"Again, I believe that to be correct. It was only due to my Vulcan training I was able to fight off the effects."
"Is there any fallout from that explosion?"
"Negative. As the explosion happened on their side of the dimensional rift, all damage caused by the explosion was contained to their universe. There does not appear to be any further signs of them, but Starfleet should be made aware of this threat. Especially for ships operating near the Azure Nebula and other Tholian sectors."
"You're sure Tholians are the ones referred to as The Great Beyonders?"
"They have a history of opening dimensional rifts. They do fit the criteria given."
"Ok T'Fon. Excellent work. I just wish I could remember something after opening the hail."










Floating in the depths of the B'Tran cluster, a lone escape pod drifted. A man sat holding a small transmitter, sending out a distress call. The pod clunked and shook, indicating someone had found him. As he moved to look out a window, he saw he was caught in the tractor beam of a wedge shaped ship. He checked the transmitter was working as he smiled.


"Hallowed are the Omega."