บท 102: Omega
Two weeks had passed since L'Naan had fully committed to our group. Things had been great between all of us since then, though we all had been wrapped up in our duties across Voyager. There was still a lot to fix after the Hirogen, but we were handling it well as nearly everything was back to normal.
L'Naan and I had been waiting for a body switching alien to appear as he was several days overdue. Thankfully, Tom did not seem to be going through the same rough patch that he had been before the episode in which the body-snatching alien made him realize everything that he had been taking for granted. When he was not on duty or with B'Elanna, I drafted him into helping me put the finishing details on my two holographic programs of Dragon Age and Skyrim.
"I've got to say, you've really outdone yourself with these two," Tom remarked as he looked over the final touches that we had just completed on Skyrim.
"As much as I would like to take all the credit for them, I used two video games from my past for the groundwork and just reformatted them for the holo-deck," I replied honestly.
"Still, you've done a lot of work. Your character subroutines are some of the most complex that I've ever seen. You could probably give Zimmerman a run for his money whenever we make it back to the Alpha Quadrant," he continued to praise.
I chuckled with a shrug and retorted, "Well, I've studied the Doctor's program for years now, so he is my unofficial teacher. So, do you think it's ready to unveil to Neelix and the rest of the crew?"
"Only one way to find out," he replied with a smirk. "Computer, activate Skyrim Program, starting location, Whiterun."
The computer chimed with acknowledgement and Tom gestured to the doors of the holo-deck. I smiled then entered the holo-deck with Tom right behind me. The doors let us onto the main dirt road as if we entered through the main gate. To the right was the Warmaiden's blacksmith shop with Adrianne Avenicci herself leaning against one of the posts, looking us over with mild interest.
"Got some good pieces out here, if you're looking to buy. More inside," she commented as she noticed my lingering stare.
Tom chuckled softly as I walked over to her and remarked, "Actually, I was hoping that you could show me a little about smithing."
She gave me an appraising look then nodded her head and replied, "You look like someone who might be able to swing a hammer properly. I've got two ingots heating up in the forge. Pull them out and set them on the anvil then I'll walk you through the steps to make a dagger."
"Inventive and smart. Trying to see the possibilities of what could happen when you enter either world after you leave Voyager? You certainly have grown from when you first entered 'The 100'," a familiar voice praised.
I had been facing the forge, but turned around when I heard his voice and found the 'world' around me paused. Sancu was dressed as he normally was and smiling. He took off his hat and gave me a slight bow before putting it back on his head.
"Why are you here, Sancu?" I sighed.
"To whisk you away before a disaster can happen," he replied. "Before you start complaining, there is very limited danger as long as you are gone, but if you remain, Voyager will be crippled as well as this entire region forever. The shockwave of Omega is nearly here and, if it makes contact with your aura, it will destabilize and you remember what that means, no?"
"No warp travel due to the damage to subspace," I sighed again. "If my presence is that dangerous, why allow this episode to play out at all? We've already missed several."
"Because Omega will be valuable to Katye if she can stabilize it," he replied with his Cheshire grin.
I resisted the urge to facepalm and instead asked, "Can you unfreeze Tom? I need to explain my absence, or it will draw a lot of questions from Janeway."
"I will, but no hidden messages to Katye or Echo, tipping them off to the challenge," he warned. "Besides, Katye is clever enough to realize that there is something special about Omega once she is close enough to it."
"Fine," I agreed.
Sancu tapped his cane and Tom regained his freedom from the Time Lock. He looked around confused then saw Sancu, nearly jumping away from him.
"Tom, this overdressed snake is a Q that my group has a lot of history with. I need to leave Voyager before something happens and, unfortunately, I can't explain why to you. I need you to find Janeway and tell her that I had to leave or risk destabilizing Omega. My crew has knowledge of what's going on, aside from my departure, but they can't solve this without the help of Voyager. You should also tell her in private. Understand?" I explained quickly.
"Not really," he replied honestly.
I chuckled, "Don't worry; things will make more sense later. I've got to go now since it isn't easy for him to freeze time like this."
"Good day to you, Thomas," Sancu said, tipping his hat towards him, then tapped his cane and we disappeared with a flash of white light.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Voyager was rocked by a shockwave, and while no damage was done to the ship, all of the sensors and terminals on the Bridge were locked down. All that could be seen was the symbol Ω, the Greek letter Omega.
"The computer is bringing up some kind of message, but I can't access it," Ensign Robertson reported from the Conn Station. "You'd better look at this."
"I can see it," Chakotay replied, tapping at the console built into his chair.
"What is it?"
"I have no idea. My command codes aren't working. The computer says I have insufficient clearance to access the message. We can't function like this. I'm going to get Harry up here to trace the source," Chakotay said.
"Don't do anything. I'll take care of this," Janeway ordered as she walked off the turbo lift and to the nearest console. She typed in a few commands and the screens returned to normal. "Send all sensor data about the particle wave to my Ready Room. Janeway to Rebecca, come to my Ready Room at once."
Hearing no reply, she looked at Chakotay confused and was about to tap her comm badge again when Tom excited the turbo lift.
"Captain! I need to speak with you privately. Rebecca gave me a message for you," Tom said urgently.
"My Ready Room," she instructed with a raised brow.
Tom nodded and led her to her office. Once she was inside and the door shut, he started, "Rebecca and I had been testing one of her holonovels when a strange Q appeared to take her away from Voyager. She said that she needed to leave or risk destabilizing Omega. She also said that her crew has knowledge of what's going on, other than her leaving, but they can't solve the problem without Voyager."
Janeway reacted to the name Omega, but did not comment on it and instead asked, "The Q, what did he look like?"
"Well… his upper body was humanoid with reptilian features while his lower body was like a snake's. He also wore a black suit and top hat, and carried a silver cane," he explained.
"I know who you're talking about. Thank you, lieutenant. Please keep this matter to yourself," Janeway ordered.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good, then you are dismissed."
Tom nodded his head then left the room. Janeway let out a sigh and walked over to her desk where she sat down.
"Janeway to Katye. Report to my Ready Room," Janeway said, tapping her badge.
"Understood," Katye replied through the comm system.
While she waited for Katye to arrive, she pulled up the sensor data about the particle wave that had hit the ship moments before. She could not help but huff with annoyance as she knew the difficulty of the mission in front of her and now she was without her biggest supporter. It was not that she had a problem with Katye, in fact she liked the woman a lot, but she was more comfortable with Rebecca as she dealt with her more.
The door chimed and Janeway closed her computer and called out, "Enter."
Katye walked into the room with a note of worry on her face which Janeway could guess as to why.
"The Q that your group refers to as Sancu apparently came and removed Rebecca from the ship. I'm not sure when she will come back, but she said that she needed to leave the ship or risk destabilizing Omega. Do you know anything about Omega?" Janeway explained and asked.
"That explains why Echo can't sense her connection to Rebecca. I've seen her vision along with the rest of our group, so I know enough to help, but we will need Seven's help if you want to destroy the element," Katye replied.
"Of course, she already knows about Omega. Do you know why she said that we would need Voyager to destroy it?"
"Because we aren't dealing with a few molecules. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of molecules left. A simple shuttle mission isn't going to be enough to handle it, and the aliens that created the element will have reinforcements on the way who will fight to get the molecules back, even with them onboard the ship."
"Damn… this is just going from bad to worse," Janeway complained. "Get whatever information you can and have it ready for me to review in an hour. I'll contact Seven and have her do the same. We will meet in Astrometrics and locate the molecules."
"Understood, Captain," Katye replied with a nod of her head then headed for the door. She made her way across the Bridge and over to the turbo lift without a word. After ordering it down to Deck 10, she tapped her badge and said, "Katye to Echo. Sancu is involved along with Omega."
"Understood. We can talk more after my shift," Echo replied.
With Echo's concerns handled for now, Katye started to think about what she knew about the episode as well as the tricky snake that had involved himself in the matter without speaking to any of their group. Like Rebecca, she questioned why the Omega would play out if Rebecca's aura could destabilize the molecules from this distance, but the pieces were not too difficult to sort out. The Borg considered Omega to represent perfection, and the Borg themselves seemed to relate to the Concept of Order, especially now that Raven had joined them and strengthened their aura. She could easily guess that she would have to step forward and handle the bulk of the effort to neutralize the molecules.
"Fae, will you let L'Naan know that the Omega episode has started, and that Rebecca was taken away by Sancu because her aura could destabilize it?" Katye asked as she walked onto their ship.
::Affirmative.:: Fae chimed.
Katye did not stop walking and headed directly to the bridge. She went to the Science Station, but instead of interacting with the console immediately, her fingers lit up with a violet light and she started tracing out a few hundred runes in a blur of movements, casting a Time accelerating spell on herself. It was a wonderful little cheat that she had discovered as she could combine it with her super speed, though she would be stuck in one place while the Time spell was activated. Fae was the only computer system that could keep up with her like this, but it allowed her to compile a complete report for Janeway as well as dig through all of her notes on the Borg language compared to the language of the Arcana, the runic magic she used.
Part of her was tempted to call on her other half, but she pushed the idea away. Alkatyenia was always watching over her and Rebecca from within her soul, so if she had not stirred, then she knew that this was something that she could complete on her own. Relating magic and the 'science' of this universe was never easy, but her study of Borg technology had given her plenty of practice to recognize a correlation between the harmonic chamber that Seven created in the episode and several unique spells that she had learned directly from her other half which could help her control Rebecca for a moment if she lost control.
"Of course," she sighed, cancelling her spells.
"What is it?" L'Naan asked; she had come down shortly after receiving Katye's message, but noticed the speed at which she was working, so decided to wait for Katye to finish what she was doing.
"It seems that this is a test for containing Rebecca's power. The chamber that Seven came up with can work with several spells that I have from my past life. They don't have much use outside of that, so I haven't used them really," she replied.
"Well, at least you have been studying Borg technology already. That should help with combining it with your magic," L'Naan remarked.
"True," she agreed. "Fae, can you replicate a data pad with the report that I made for Janeway along with the ideas for Seven's harmonic chamber?"
::It will be in the Engineering replicator.::
"Thanks."
"What can Echo and I do to help?"
"Honestly, I have a feeling that I will need a lot of mana crystals to fuel either enchantments or formations, so if you two could start making a stockpile of them, that would be helpful, and we could always use them later if we don't need them," Katye said.
"Alright, I'll get working on it and let Echo know."
"Thanks; I've got to meet with Janeway and Seven, but I'll keep you two updated. Can you also check on Filigree for me and let her know that I'll be busy for the next few days?"
"Sure," L'Naan agreed with a nod.
"Thanks again," Katye said before heading to the door.
Katye left the ship after grabbing the two data pads and headed for the Astrometrics Lab since it was on the deck below. Seven and Janeway were already there and analyzing the data to pinpoint the location of Omega molecules. She handed Janeway her report and Seven the specifications for the harmonic chamber.
"Two hundred million?!?" Janeway exclaimed as she looked at the report.
"That is what the head researcher estimated, but I have no idea if that was the case after the explosion that we've already felt. No matter what, we will need the harmonic chamber that Seven designed originally, though I have some ideas how to improve it with my magic. Despite removing Rebecca, her mana is saturated in several devices on Voyager and the Fae Dragon, so we will need to be extra careful," Katye explained.
"Why didn't Q remove them as well if they pose a risk?" Janeway asked.
"Why hasn't Q sent Voyager back to the Alpha Quadrant? Aside from a few specific ones who fool around when they are bored, Q will only interact with the universe when they are needed. My affinity is Rebecca's natural counter, so they expect me to handle it."
Janeway rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache forming.
"With these specifications, we would be able to fully stabilize Omega. We won't need to destroy it," Seven remarked.
"Not a chance," Katye said before Janeway could respond. "One mistake and half the quadrant will never be able to use warp-drive again. I know how important Omega is to the Borg and to you, but risking so much for our own curiosity is arrogant and irresponsible. 'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few' to quote Ambassador Spock."
Seven frowned, taking Katye's words to heart, yet did not argue. Janeway raised an eyebrow at her words, appreciating them more than she would have expected.
"So, what will you need from us for the chamber and your... spells?" Janeway asked.
"Obviously, the parts replicated which I hope that Seven can provide a list of as the vision did not have that information. I already have L'Naan working on mana crystals that will fuel my enchantments and formations, but once we have all the pieces gathered, I would request that my group and Seven take over construction so that I can activate a Time Alteration formation. Passing through the formation will have adverse effects on a Mortal body, and Seven is the only person that calls Cargo Bay Two 'home', so she would not likely need to leave. It won't affect anything outside of my runic formation, including Voyager, but inside, Time will move at three times the speed outside of the area. Unfortunately, it takes a significant amount of time for me to cast the various formations and enchantments that I'd like to use to ensure that Omega can be handled safely, so I need the extra time to make sure everything is ready by the time we reach the molecules."
"Alright," Janeway agreed. "Do you have any complaints, Seven?"
"None," she replied plainly.
"Then we will follow your advice. I want regular updates on your progress," Janeway instructed.
"Of course," Katye agreed.
Janeway nodded then headed out of the room to start passing out assignments to the rest of the crew. Starfleet had a set of general guidelines for whenever Omega appeared, but if they had been in the Alpha Quadrant, a specialized team would be sent out to handle it, which obviously could not happen out here. Thankfully, Katye had provided a very detailed report of Rebecca's vision, so she had a good idea of what would and would not work.
Echo joined L'Naan on the Fae Dragon shortly after Janeway returned to the Bridge, crafting as many mana crystals as they could while the Voyager crew got to work on the harmonic chamber. By the time all the parts and pieces were replicated and delivered to the cargo bay, they had nearly fifty crystals which they brought after Katye called them in to join her. She used a dozen crystals to cast the Time Alteration formation then the four of them started building the chamber, though Katye focused on enchanting.
Aside from the Fae Dragon crew and Seven handling the construction of the harmonic chamber, the only other difference from the show was that Janeway only told the Senior Staff the details of Omega and allowed them to assist her with recovering the molecules. Katye and the group managed to complete their work by the time that Voyager was in orbit around the planetoid. She had to disable her formation to allow the transfer of the molecules to the ship and, when they materialized in the chamber, she could not help but freeze, sensing the mana radiating from within.
Without thinking, Katye shifted into her Dusa form and approached the chamber. Echo and L'Naan also sensed the unique, powerful mana as well as the change in Katye. It was not like when Alkatyenia took over her body, but rather, her aura seemed to harmonize with the molecules. Unfortunately, that was not necessarily a good thing as they were still not stabilized, so her own aura began to destabilize as violet mana started leaking out of her body and drifted towards the chamber. L'Naan and Seven both shouted at her while Echo rushed for her, only for her to hit a barrier of sorts that was created by Katye's uncontrolled mana. Nothing that they could do had any effect on Katye while she found her mind being pulled into her Soul Realm...
A/N: I forgot to set this up before work, so I'm doing it from my phone and not bothering with the delay timing. Enjoy the early chapter and sorry for the cliffhanger lol
สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
-- การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
-- หินพลัง