Chapter 119: Dark Frontier, Part 5
Echo infiltrated the space station with ease and quickly made her way through the maze-like system of corridors. If she encountered a shielded section, she would divert and try to circle around it, but typically, that was impossible. It left holes in my initial map, but her first goal was to gather as much general information as possible without exposing herself. If she tried to force herself past the Borg shielding, there was a chance that she could be detected, so we wanted to focus on gathering as much information as we could get, before we truly started testing the Borg lines.
While Echo was physically there, surveying every space that she crossed, I was focused only on what she saw. Thanks to my ability to divide my mind into multiple parts, I used two to focus on the details while another four were focused on building the map. Katye and L'Naan were also going over the three-dimensional model, as I finished different sections, and identifying important devices that could be used to sabotage the station.
Once she circled the outside of the center region where the rune factory, Raven, and Seven were, Echo finally hacked her way into their computer systems. Katye connected her mind to mine telepathically, so that she could help Echo navigate the system safely. It was no surprise that there were even more traps hidden within the computer system of the space station than on the Borg world, but thankfully, Echo's and Katye's training with the trap spells was making it easier for them to find them.
They quickly uncovered that it would be impossible to use the same strategy from the Borg world to circumvent the blocking shields, but that really was not unexpected. Since we had figured out that we can use the Borg technology within our bodies, both Echo and I had focused on learning the classic Borg abilities. We had learned how to use our Borg shielding, while it was much weaker than our exo-suits, the ability to 'adapt' to different frequencies was far better, but again, unexpected. I rarely used it because it drained my implants quicker than refilling my exo-suit, but Echo had been focusing on it as it assisted with her stealth magic; making our spars more and more annoying with her stealth.
With Katye's recommendation, not only did she focus on the current frequency for the internal shield, but also focused on the various rotations that they would cycle through first. She discovered quickly that the internal shield frequency would rotate every two minutes, though they followed a specific pattern. Katye uploaded the pattern and frequencies into Fae's database to help ensure that the schedule was exact, but she insisted that Echo recheck the system before she tried to recross any of the zones.
Honestly, I was not surprised by the wisdom of Katye's words. Echo managed to slip past a set of shielding and explored quickly what she could without crossing another set. When all that was left was to move through the next set of shields, she found that the frequencies had changed from what she had learned before. Katye recorded the data again into Fae as Echo moved on, but alarm bells had already started going off in her mind.
"Fae, hail the Delta Flyer and establish a link with them, uploading the data maps that we have created as we work," Katye instructed.
::Understood.::
"This is Janeway," a voice announced.
"Captain, we're uploading the data as we get it because I'm not sure if we will get a second chance of Echo moving through the different zones. She is passing the shields with a much different technique than how she moved across them on the planet, which left minor trails at most, but the patterns have changed within minutes between inner and outer sections. I'm guessing that trend will continue, so there is a chance that it could get beyond Echo's means of staying hidden. I want her to start tagging important devices with traps, so that if she was discovered, we might have enough time to beam her out if the entire mission fails. I could be wrong, but the 'adaptability' of the Borg is something we can't ignore. There is a chance that the Borg are detecting Echo's breaches into their computer systems to check the changes in patterns, and 'adapting'.
"We are marking things we recognize, so if you can help with that, it would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you have any recommendations for key points to cripple the space station that we haven't thought of, or some reason why the locations would be more dangerous, please let us know. Echo's exo-suit can handle a certain level of explosion based off its remaining reserves, so I'll transfer that data to you next along with a list of gear that she is carrying to assist with the possible plans we had thought of. We're going to have to make this plan on the fly because we are only going to have one chance at this. If Echo gets exposed, we must act immediately, even if it means the entire mission fails. If she is captured, our only option will be to fight to the death against the station as the Borg will be able to grow even faster," Katye warned.
"My crew will also go over the maps and add suggestions," Janeway agreed.
"I'll have Echo stop and meditate in the first isolated spot she can find, giving you two hours to analyze what we have so far. After that, she will start setting up traps," Katye explained.
"Understood."
Katye ended the voice transmission then got up and walked over to the nearest console. She started typing away and, due to her telepathic link with me, I received a vague understanding that she was sending the rest of the information to the Delta Flyer then switched over to calculating the different possible frequencies combinations. While I could split my mind into ten, only six could handle complex tasks, yet Katye could have up to twenty working on complex tasks or magic with another ten that she can use to meditate to restore her mana; she was even more broken than I was.
Echo "overheard" Katye's message to Janeway, so she switched gears and started looking for a place to hide for a time. Typically, there was not really a corridor or junction that saw little traffic, so Echo squeezed her way between some of the conduits that were like a wall between different hallways. It was not the most comfortable position, but it was safer and using her Territorial Domain would cost less mana as few would be likely to pass through it. Echo could manage to split her mind into three, with Nyka being a fourth when they were fused like they were now, but if she was just focusing on her Domain and meditating, she could create five, four of which were meditating. Our connection, and Nyka's connection, would be pushed to the one maintaining the Domain, so both of us also assisted with keeping watch over her surroundings.
For the next two hours, while Echo focused on mostly meditation, Janeway's group added their own knowledge of Borg technology to the maps that I had already made. Katye, with one or two of her extra minds, fused the information from the Delta Flyer into a master list for the map creation as well as highlighting the different devices for her to trap, color coded for the different groups that she would trigger at different intervals. While Fae was assisting Katye, she was doing the bulk of the work to figure out what to tag and which grouping should be linked to maximize the damage without killing Echo outright.
Although she remained hidden, the question of whether or not she had been detected was in question as Raven passed her hiding spot twice during the two hours. There was nothing specific that Raven appeared to focus on, or even that she was looking for something in general, but her appearance was not something any of us would ignore. The biggest variable of this mission was her, after all, so we were all expecting Raven to play a key role in this attack, though sadly, for the other side.
After the two-hour mark, Echo slipped out of her hiding spot carefully. Instead of proceeding along her original route, she decided to double back across several shields while checking the frequency patterns before every pass, though nothing changed as she rushed through seven shields. Finally, she moved onto a new area and started trapping different devices, though all were triggered to her command rather than someone else accidentally activating them.
Echo had a catalog of different types of traps, some like the ones that Katye first created, which are incredibly easy to trigger and only needed mana to cast, while the majority of them required a 'Spell Stone', which was why she could control them with such precision. Spell Stones were not mana crystals by any definition, but rather, generic stones that are reformed into specific shapes while the 'spells' were infused into the stone itself. They were always small, able to fit into the palm of the hand, but the main weakness of Spell Stones was if they were damaged in the slightest degree, they would erupt with full force.
One of my minds was tasked with pointing out the different devices and which group it was tagged for to Echo. Her mind was also divided, one connected to me, while her other minds were focused on the task at hand... though there was something that was troubling her. Whatever it was, she was keeping it from me but considering that she was sneaking through the Borg space station, it was not the time to pester her about it.
Echo navigated through the corridors efficiently, stashing her Spell Stones in out-of-sight spots. She was quickly nearing the rune factory, but that was when things got more complicated. Unlike the other shields throughout the space station, there were drones standing on either side of the shield like guards, and they all had mana crystals built into their bodies.
Instead of risking moving through the shields with the drones next to it, Echo circled around the junction and tried to find another way inside. Unfortunately, she had no luck as every corridor led to a guarded shield. Although the factory was one of our primary targets, it was not the only one, so Echo changed her focus to Seven.
Thankfully, the guards only seemed to be watching over the factory as she did not come across any as she moved to the heart of the space station. It looked like it had in the episode, though dimmer, and had a few drones working at different terminals. The Queen was nowhere to be seen, but Seven looked to be regenerating. After placing a couple of Spell Stones in specific locations, Echo switched to track Raven and found herself being led back to the rune factory.
{Let's call it here, Echo. It's obvious that they are placed there to catch you; the Borg don't 'guard' anything, especially on their own space station.} Katye remarked.
{I'm not ready. Raven and the rune factory are behind that shield!} Echo growled.
{It's a trap, Echo.} I retorted.
{And? That never stopped you before.}
Before Katye or I could say anything else, Echo stepped through the shield. The two drones next to her did not react, so it appeared that she had slipped through undetected. Still, we all knew better than to trust everything at face value.
{Damnit, Echo! You aren't going to be able to leave that region. Even if the drones start converging on your location immediately, they will the moment that you try to cross the shield again, and you know it!} I snapped.
{I have a plan.} she insisted.
I gritted my teeth with annoyance since there was nothing that I could do about it. Echo had already crossed the shield line, so I could only hope her plan would work. Katye shook her head with exasperation, but instead of arguing with Echo, she did the sensible thing.
"Fae, contact the Delta Flyer," Katye sighed, rubbing her forehead.
"This is Janeway."
"Echo just entered the rune factory, but considering the guards at the shield, there is a good chance that she could be exposed. She located Seven not too long ago, so start coming up with your plans for getting her back. I can't tell you what the situation will be when we need to act, but the moment is coming soon," Katye explained.
"Why did you send her into such a 'danger zone'?" Tuvok asked.
"We... didn't. Echo crossed the shield line after we told her to return to a safe spot. She has a plan, not that we know what it is, but we trust her enough to not throw away her life if she wasn't confident. We'll alert you to any chances or if we need to act, and I'll beam over the enhanced bio-dampener."
With an annoyed sigh, Janeway replied, "Understood, we'll remain at a combat-ready state."
"Thank you," Katye said before cutting off communication with the Delta Flyer.
She walked off to send the enhanced bio-dampeners over, no doubt. I could only huff and return my full attention to Echo and the map creation. She moved through the corridors until she finally reached the rune factory... and it was impressive. Overall, it was around three million square feet in size, though it was divided into sections.
The majority of the space was dedicated to processing the mana crystals to turn them into mana dust as it was not a simple process to break them down properly. The last section was filled with mold forms that were being cycled through as they were filled with mana dust then they were moved into the 'formation' which circled a platform. Below the platform, there was the Anomaly Stone and standing on the platform was Raven, channeling maroon mana into two pylons which were perfectly positioned so that her hands just rested on them.
"Now that you are here, Echo," Raven said, hundreds of voices overlapping with hers, as her eyes opened suddenly, "you should stay."
From every entrance to the factory, enhanced drones marched into the area. They spread out throughout the walkway, circling both Echo and Raven. While Echo might have been able to handle a few of them and still escape, there was no chance with over a hundred special drones.
{Blow the first set of traps, and we'll race in to get you out of there!} I ordered.
Echo retrieved two handfuls of Spell Stones and replied, {Sorry, that's not my plan.}
Immediately, she threw out the Spell Stones at the enhanced drones followed by another two handfuls before the first ones hit. A chain of explosions swallowed her, Raven, and all of the enhanced drones. To my surprise, Echo did not activate her shields, though it was doubtful that they would have held with the intensity of the explosions.
"Echo!" I screamed both through our connection and aloud... but there was no reply.
Weekly Power Status
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