Chapter 118: Dark Frontier, Part 4
We rode in the wake of the Delta Flyer as it crossed into transwarp, following behind them through the green energy tunnel that bore its way through Space. Katye spent the time making adjustments to Fae's shields and cloaking as Raven was very familiar with them, so the Borg would likely be able to detect us if we did not make some changes. Janeway and I spoke a little over the comm system, as the journey took several days, but otherwise, Echo, L'Naan, and I spent our time training or keeping the core topped off.
When we dropped out of transwarp, we were exactly where we had been expecting, Unimatrix One. It was a massive space station unlike anything that I had ever seen before, or even imagined. The episode had shown a hint of the complex, interconnecting structures, but of course, that barely did the true thing justice. Numerous cubes, spheres, and other types of Borg ships were docked to main structures which looked tiny in comparison. Millions of drones must have been stationed throughout the space station, grossly outnumbering Janeway's statement that we would be searching for two individuals among 'thousands'.
Instead of the Delta Flyer immediately searching for Seven and Raven, I asked that they stay back while we took the Fae Dragon closer to the space station. Echo's 'eye' would be better at locating the two of them along with the rune factory as it was not something that even Fae's sensors could detect. Conventional, and even Fae's, sensors could be detected, so if we wanted to stay hidden as long as possible, this would be the best way for us to collect information to begin.
For the next ten hours, Echo used her 'eye' to locate the rune factory as well as approximate locations of Raven and Seven, since they moved around occasionally. Unfortunately, all three were practically in the center of the massive structure, though it was expected. Things could not be too easy for us, after all.
"Damn," I sighed with annoyance as I looked at Echo's report. "It will be impossible for us to get in close. If they are using those mana-sensors, not even the Yin Realm will allow us to get close."
"No, 'we' can't, but Echo can... with this," Katye replied, retrieving a small device from her storage ring. "I combined the principles of my cloaking magic with bio-dampeners that the Hansons created. It will mask her mana and vitals from the sensors, while her unique cloaking magic should be able to further enhance her stealth. I also have a few simpler versions of the enhanced bio-dampeners which Janeway and another could use."
I sighed and leaned back in my chair. It was not the first time that Echo would have to go in alone on a dangerous mission, but the scale of the Borg space station made me concerned. It was not like the Borg planet where we almost got Raven back, which was spaced out and still developing. The space station had been around for a long time, packed densely with drones, and likely had numerous runic formations throughout it. Unfortunately, it did not matter because we did not really have any other options, since I doubted that we could manage a direct assault and get Seven out safely.
::Janeway is hailing.:: Fae chimed.
"Put her through," I replied, turning to face the main window of the bridge which doubled as a viewscreen.
"This report doesn't give me a lot of hope," Janeway said dryly.
"Yeah, I'm not too happy about it myself, but it's not as bad as you would think. Katye prepared a couple of enhanced bio-dampeners, one specifically for Echo while the other two can work for your group, not mine. Echo has a few tricks that she can deploy while physically scouting the space station which will allow us to hit them hard whenever we are ready to enact our plan... once we have a solid one, at least," I explained.
"You have two dampeners for us?" she asked with a bit of surprise.
"Unfortunately, it isn't easy to mask the amount of mana that we have within our bodies, so only Echo, who specializes in stealth, has a chance to move around undetected. My thoughts were that two of your people could move in close and focus on extracting Seven safely in the confusion of our initial assault," Katye said.
Janeway nodded thoughtfully and agreed, "That could work if you manage to knock out the shielding around that core area where Seven seems to be staying in."
"That's the hope. Echo is resting right now after using her power for so long, but once she's awake, she'll head out and start scouting the space station. I'll work on building a map of the areas as she moves through them and send you the data as I create it. I'm not sure how long it will take her to scout everything, but once she's done, and rested, I would like yours, Tuvok's, Tom's, and the Doctor's, input on the plan on how to assault the station. More ideas mean that we can adjust easier to whatever actually unfolds; battle plans are great, but as the fight breaks out, things change in an instant."
"Agreed. Hail us when you're ready to discuss everything," Janeway said, though there was a hint of annoyance in her voice.
She cut the connection, and I sighed, leaning back in my chair.
"She's not one to sit and wait, huh?" Katye asked with a light chuckle.
"Can you blame her? Without us, she would fully be running this show, and now, she's stuck waiting on our actions. She's been reduced to a side character when she should be the star," I retorted.
"I don't, but if she's going to follow us to another 'universe', she needs to learn that she has to take a backseat at times, or she won't be a good fit," she replied.
"Janeway won't leave Starfleet," I said without hesitation.
"That Janeway won't, but we're destined to meet another one, no?" she smirked.
"We don't even know if that episode will still play out. We haven't seen any of the alternate timeline episodes so far, so why would that one pop up and give us an easy ending to 'Voyager'?"
"Oh, I think we will still see Admiral Janeway at the end, but whether or not she is from our 'timeline' or the original one, is the true question. We haven't seen the alternate timelines because we either preemptively stop them, or we would not be a part of them outright, so we can't know for sure. Things are, as usual, in Tori's hands."
"Why do you want to add her to our group? That's just giving Tori and his goons more pawns to use against us, and the next universe isn't going to be as simple as this one," I questioned.
She chuckled, shaking her head, and retorted, "You don't understand why the others are with us in the first place. Yes, he screwed us over in the Final War, but that doesn't explain L'Naan; she could have been removed when Voyager was erased. We're building our Patheon for when we leave the safety of his Inner Realm. Unless we reach his level or close to it at least, which is impossible while we're within his realm, moving through the Endless Firmament is dangerous, and we're at high risk of becoming slaves without sufficient support alongside us. And, before you ask, it's not just about the experience of working together with someone else for years, there are literal battle formations that require so many people to use, and typically, the more people, the better the effects."
"Fuck," I cursed, my mind blown. "Wuxia novels are real! How did I not realize it sooner?!?"
Katye laughed, "You're the one that made me first realize that our 'first life' was teaching us about the Endless Firmament and the possibilities of magic! It's just like him to give us the information we need but figure out how to use it on our own."
"Make me feel worse," I complained, rolling my eyes.
She chuckled then sighed, "Honestly, I wish I had realized it sooner. There are many from 'The 100' that I would have trusted with the truth if I had known they could have followed us. What we need more than anything is trustworthy people at our side, and we had a lot of those people back then."
"Yeah... I miss our friends too," I agreed. "Well, if we need trustworthy people, we don't need to look any further than the stars of the show. Not only is their character in the show excellent and loyal, but we've also already formed deep friendships with them, and they trust us greatly."
"Now who is looking to add more to our group?" she teased.
"I'm just saying... I doubt any of them would actually join us. They all have commitments in the Alpha Quadrant and wouldn't want to leave permanently, especially after just returning. Only Seven is an almost guarantee with how close you are to her; perhaps Tom and B'Elanna if we gave them some time to say goodbye to the few people that they're close to, but they'll have a daughter to raise most likely, so they may not want to bring her into a dangerous universe," I replied, putting my hands behind my head and my feet up on the console.
"Most likely, but I think you're right and we should still make them an offer."
"Yeah, it won't hurt."
We chatted about a few minor things, nothing important, just trying to pass the time. Echo woke up a few hours later and geared up for her mission after a meal that Katye made specifically for her. Obviously, we were not about to beam her onboard the space station, so we flew in close, and she slipped out the hatch. Although she could not use her exo-suit's thrusters, we were close enough that her momentum carried her over to the hull. She grabbed onto one of the many bars that decorated the hull of the space station, in proper Borg fashion, and pulled herself along the hull, making her way toward a docking the nearest docking hatch. There was already a sphere moving to dock there, which was why we picked the particular location, so as the massive doors opened to swallow the sphere, Echo was pulled in as well.
Weekly Power Status
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