STAR TREK HELIX: EPISODE 9 “AXIS POWER” part 3
TEASER: IN THE COMPANY OF RIGHTEOUS WICKEDNESS
A few moments ago, Kyle K’Nar remembered thinking: ‘I’m about to die. No
escape for my symbiote- no new host to look forward to. It’s my last dance.’
A few moment ago, Kyle K’Nar remembered watching his best friend die for the
second time, while not being able to save her. And now, he stared at the
people who made up the Resistance’s uneasy alliance- his reality’s last
hope.
The crew of the U.S.S. Atlantis, and mother of all evils- The Borg Queen.
They were united with one goal in mind- the stop AXIS from destorying
reality.
And now they extended their hand to him.
“Let me get this straight.” Kyle said straightening himself. “You need my
help to destroy this universe?”
The Borg Queen responded. “WE SUSPECTED THAT THE AXIS EXPERIMENT FAILED DUE
TO AN UNKNOWN CATALYST WHICH SLIGHTLY ALTERED THE TEMPORAL SHOCKWAVE. UPON
FURTHER ANALYSIS, WE CONCLUDED THAT YOU WERE THE ONLY ANOMALLY CLOSE ENOUGH
TO CAUSE SUCH DAMAGE.”
Kyle wiped his face and tried to think. “Back on board the artifact, when
Alex was changed, he said something about initiating the experiment. And
later, when I was onboard the Helix, there was a strange feeling of nausea.
When the artifact produced the shock wave, I felt this incredible pain like
someone was trying to rip my insides apart.”
“INTERESTING” The Queen snatching the medical tricorder from the Doctor. “IT
SEEMS YOU WERE EXPOSED TO A SERIES OF MODIFIED CHRONOTONS ABOARD THE
ARTIFACT. WHEN THE SHOCK WAVE HIT YOU, IT CAUSE A GLITCH IN THE EQUATION.”
“Then he’s our anchor to the original reality?” Lt. David Gerard asked.
“CORRECT.”
“Will someone please explains this for the stupid people in the room?” Kyle
said, making his way to the medical table again. “Because it all sounds like
one of those cheesy holo-novels my last host use to play with.”
Lt. Casey found a seat beside him. “With the Queen’s help, we now have the
data and the technology to restore our reality.”
“I SOUGHT OUT AN ENLISTED THE HELP OF ERIC BECKETT.”
“Enlisted?” Eric interrupted. “That an interesting way to put it.”
The Queen smiled at him. “I REALIZED OUR GOALS HAD BECOME… SIMILAR, SO I
SPARED HIS LIFE. I ALTERED HIS MOLECULAR STRUCTURE SO THAT HE WOULD BE
UNDETECTABLE TO AXIS, AND PLACED HIM WITHIN THE COLLECTIVE. ONCE THE
RESISTANCE ATTACK BEGAN, AXIS BECAME PREOCCUPIED.”
“All I needed to do was wait until I got access to the main console and
download the information needed to restore reality. Thanks to Mia and Kyle,
I was able to retrieve the information sooner than thought.”
Kyle was confused. “But why am I so important to the equation?”
Shelly responded. “The problem is that once we set the timeline right, none
of us would remember what happened? which would create a ‘causality loop’
and doom us to repeat the entire incident all over again. But since we have
you, we can analyze the temporal variance in your body to make us also
resistant to the temporal change.”
“So, what do we do now?” Kyle asked propping himself on the medical table.
“Now, we wait for the commodore to pull a rabbit out of his hat…”
————————————————————————
ACT 1: UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE
PERSONAL LOG: COMMODORE DIMITRI ANDREYEVICH
It’s been roughly an hour since the destruction of the Borg array.
Due to the heroic actions of my crew and the Borg Queen, there may
have a good chance and restoring the timeline. I can’t lie, I
didn’t think we were gonna make it out of this one. After six
months of constant missions, the crew and myself were taxed to our
limits. The fact that we’re still able to keep our wits after all
this time, proves that I have the best crew in Starfleet.
The Borg Queen has been very cooperative up to this point. How
long will it be before she turns on us? I don’t know. What I do
know is that we need her and the drones to pull this off. As far
as I’m concerned, the enemy of my enemy is my best friend in the
world…
END TRANSMITTION
Kollos and the Borg Queen entered the conference room to find Dimitri
staring out the window. After catching their reflection in the glass, he
spoke without turning around. “Since we’ve been getting crappy news for the
past few days, I’m assuming you guys are coming baring happy news.”
“WE COME WITH PROGRESS REPORTS” the Queen responded.
Dimitri turned with a smile. “Close enough.” He sat down and watched Kollos
head for the viewscreen.
He brought up a schematic of Engineering. “As of this moment, we’re running
at 80% efficiency. The shockwave from the array took our internal sensors
offline, but they should be functional in a couple hours. With Queeny’s
help, we’ve upgraded all the engineering workstations with Borg technology.
This has increased our computational capacity by 1200%. Unfortunately, the
computers weren’t designed to run that fast, so they’ll all burn out once we
make the jump. We’ve compiled the data from Eric and Kyle and have
extrapulated the neccesary information to restore the universe.”
“THE PROBLEM WILL BE GENERATING ENOUGH ENERGY TO RECREATE THE TEMPORAL
EXPLOSION.” The Queen added.
Dimtri thought for a second. “You can leave that to me.”
“FINE.” The Queen took over the viewscreen. “WE’VE BEEN MONITORING BORG
ACTIVITY USING LONG RANGE SCANNERS. IT SEEMS THAT THE DESTRUCTION OF THE
ARRAY HAS CREATED TURMOIL IN THE COLLECTIVE. AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME, THERE
ARE NO PURSUERS.” She shut the screen down. “I EXPECTED WE SHOULD HAVE
RECEIVED SOME TYPE OF RESISTENCE.”
“You think AXIS is up to something?”
“CORRECT.”
“Then keep running sensor sweeps. How long until we’re able to make the
timejump?”
Kollos consulted his tricorder. “Just under two hours, Sir. That is, if
we’re able to get the power we need.”
Dimitri stood. “Don’t worry, you’ll get more than enough.” He slowly stood
up to face the others. “Where’s Kyle?”
“BEING TREATED IN THE MEDICAL CENTER WITH ERIC.”
“Good. Queen, I need you with me on the bridge to delegate repairs to your
drones. Kollos, you and David report back to Engineering and oversee the
plan. And lets hope the next couple hours run this smooth…”
————————————————————————
Moments before, Kyle was dreaming. He was aboard the Helix training Mia in
the ancient form of Klingon martial arts. There wasn’t anything particularly
interesting about the dream. He just never realized how much he enjoyed his
time with Mia. They’re constant bickering and grappling were the only times
he felt totally at ease. He hoped to see her again someday.
When he awoke, he found himself staring up at the ceiling lights. This was
strange because he never slept on his back. As he tried to sit up he felt
the shart pain of the bruised ribs hit him like a slap of bricks. He glanced
to his left, at the other bed where Eric layed before he fell asleep, and
found that it was empty.
“Doc.” Kyle called out. “I can use some of that pain numbing stuff you gave
me before.”
There was no answer.
————————————————————————
The Borg Queen was sitting beside the Commodore on the bridge, when she
first got the sensation. She could here the infinite voices of her drones
swimming in her head. But one voice managed to stand out from the rest. It
was a chilling voice, which sent an intriguing sensation through her. It was
a feeling, which she hadn’t felt in centuries… Fear….
She stood from her seat with a look of shock on her face.
“What’s wrong?” Dimitri asked.
She accessed the available data a thousand times within a few seconds to
ensure her conclusion was terrifyingly correct.
“ALL IS LOST.” She replied, slowly turning toward Dimitri. “HE IS AMONG US…”
————————————————————————
“Come on, doc. I’m in pain here! Your bedside manner is really….” As Kyle
glanced to his right, he could make out Dr. Zhivago’s lifeless body laying
face up on the other side of the room. His skin was almost radiating a pale
grayness and large vein-like streaks were pulsating along his face.
Kyle had seen this effect once before. It was on the Borg artifact when Alex
was first being….
“..assimilated!”
Kyle turned and looked up to see a familiar face staring down at him. But
the attacker turned out not to be one of the Borg drones.
“Uh oh…”
“HELLO KYLE.” AXIS said with an evil grin on his face, two assimilation
tubes slowly rising from his knuckled wrist. “RESISTANCE IS FUTILE.”
————————————————————————
ACT 2: INFESTATION
Kyle managed to role off of the medical table, just as the creature’s fist
slammed through it. He quickly pulled himself up and ran for the door.
“THERE IS NO ESCAPE!” Axis yelled at his prey.
Kyle tried to activate the emergency door locks, but it became clear that
his attacker was one step ahead of him. He turned to face his former friend,
who now slowly approached him.
“DID YOU THINK I WOULD ALLOW YOU TO ESCAPE AGAIN?” his was expressionless,
but you could hear the anger in his tone. “BECAUSE OF YOU, MIA IS GONE.
SHE’LL NEVER BE A PART OF THE COLLECTIVE!”
AXIS lunged for Kyle, but the Trill was already in motion. As they passed
each other, Kyle sent a round-house kick to the Borg’s back. AXIS stumbled
slightly, but not as much a Kyle hoped.
He knew he couldn’t dodge his captor for long in the medical bay’s small
compartment. He had to find something to defend himself with.
“YOU ARE DELAYING THE INEVIDABLE, KYLE.” The monster called out.
The sharp pain in his ribs intensified, but Kyle still managed to steadied
himself. “Alex, if you’re still in there somewhere, you have to fight him!”
Axis smiled. “THE BIOLOGICAL ENTITY KNOWN AS ALEX GARRETT HAS BEEN PURGED
FROM THIS PROGRAM. THERE IS ONLY AXIS.”
Kyle grabbed a short surgical knife for a nearby medical tray. “Well then, I
guess it’s time to finish what we started on the artifact. What do you say
AXIS? You ready for round three?”
The creature smiled as it slowly walked toward Kyle. The Trill warrior kept
in eye contact with his aggressor. As he moved to keep the medical table
between them, he unknowingly stumbled over Eric Beckett’s unconscious body.
He fell backwards and hit is head on the soft floor, the surgical knife
slipping from his grip. By the time he made to his feet again, AXIS had
disappeared from his site.
Kyle panicked. He tried to reach for the knife again, but he was met by a
swift kick to his fractured ribs, which lifted him off of his feet and sent
him spinning across the room. When he finally gathered his sense, he found
himself cornered in the far side of the room with Axis standing over him.
“THERE WILL BE NO MORE RESISTENCE, KYLE.”
He tasted the blood running from his nose. “You won’t win! The others won’t
let it happen!”
“THE OTHERS AREN’T SMART ENOUGH TO REALIZE I’VE ORCHESTRATED EVERTHING THAT
HAS HAPPENED!” he reached down and grabbed Kyle by the throat and lifted him
off his feet. “THE AXIS IS ABSOLUTE!” once again, he activated the
assimilation tubes in his wrist. “NO ONE WILL BE SPARED!”
The Borg’s free arm wrenched for Kyle’s throat when he felt the painful
impact of a metal cylinder collide with the side of his head. The blow was
so powerful, it made him release Kyle from his grip and stumble into the
wall.
“If I had a strip of latnum for evertime I heard you spout that ‘AXIS IS
GOD’ crap, I’d probably own my own moon!” a wobbly, Borg-a-fide Eric Beckett
said as he readied the large cylinder in his hand for another swing. “I’m
sick of all the pain, and death you and your kind have inflicted!” he voice
cracked as his vocal cords showed signs of being assimilated.
“This is for my family!!!” the next swing caught AXIS again in the head
again.
“This is for my friends!!!!” the next blow caught him in the turso.
“This is for resistence!!!!” the next blow caught him in the wrist which was
block his head. AXIS fell on his back and raise his hands in defiance,
“And this is for everything else, you cybernetic bastard!!!” Eric raised the
cylinder over his head and swung it down toward AXIS with as much strength
as he could gather. But as it came within inches of his head, he activated
some type of emergency transporter technology. The cylinder pasted through
his transparent image and slammed hard into the floor.
In a matter of seconds, AXIS was gone.
“So there…” Eric said as his body gave out on him and he started to fall
backwards. Fortunately, Kyle was there to catch him.
“Easy there, partner.” Kyle said helping Eric to the bed. “That’s the second
time you saved my from being assimilated. When this is over, the beers are
on me.”
Eric started to laugh, but a wrenching wave of pain washed over him. He
clutched his chest.
“Man, you don’t look so good.” Kyle said.
“The nanoprobes in my body are doing their work.” The Slayer replied, his
voice giving way to a hint of a Borg accent. “Lucky for me, the changes
‘Queeny’ made to my body are slowing down the process. I may only an hour or
so before I’m fully assimilated.” He slowly pulled himself off of the bed
and stood tall in front of Kyle.
“Then that’s all we’ll need.” Kyle grabbed his arm and helped him toward the
door.
When they reached the control panel, Eric told Kyle to stand back and then
drove his Borg fist into the control panel. “I should be able to unlock the
door.” In seconds, the door slid open just in time for Eric the prop himself
on the door frame. He looked at Kyle and smiled. “He’s trapped.”
“Who’s what?” Kyle asked putting his friends arm round his neck and helping
him down the corridor.
“Axis. He’s trapped.” The communications array is destroyed, so he can’t
transfer is essence between drones anymore. If we can take him down here and
now, we can kill him.”
Kyle tapped his combadge. “Kyle of the Commodore..”
“Dimitri here.” A voice replied.
“We have a problem. It’s AXIS… He’s loose on the ship…”
————————————————————————
In Engineering, Kollos’ hand ran over the timewarp console with a
lightning-fast, fluid motion.
“Alright, I’ve got the mathematic data online. I’ve started the countdown.
We’re T-Minus twenty two minutes until the timejump.” He said as he made his
way for Lieutenant David Gerard. “How’s the Borg power-distribution nodes
coming?”
David brought the schematics onscreen. “I ran into some trouble with the
power conversion process on the warp core’s end. So I installed several
powercells instead. But we’re still not gonna have enough power to pull this
off.”
“The Commodore said it was taken care of.”
“What do you think he meant by….”
David’s question was interrupted by a loud crash, which came from one of the
upper decks. They both paused.
“I thought we were the only ones in here?” David whispered.
“We’re suppose to be.”
————————————————————————
Dimtri and The Borg Queen found Lt. Shelly Casey and Lt. Krag at the
rendezvous point.
“What’s our status?” He asked them.
Shelly stepped forward. “The Internal Sensors are fried. But, from what we
here from the securty detail around the ship, AXIS has drones placed
throughout the ship, blocking any path to Engineering. The Queens drones
have been engaging them, but it doesn’t look good.”
“HE’S TRYING TO DESTORY THE TIMEWARP SEQUENCE?” The Queen asked unusually
nervous.
“Yep.”
“What about the transporters?” Krag asked.
“Their offline.” Shelly answered. “AXIS knows what he’s doing.”
Dimitri thought for a second. “Somebody’s gotta reach Engineering and give
the others some help. We’ll split up. Shelly and the Queen will take the
upper decks. Try and use the Jefferies tubes if possible. Krag and I will
try the lower decks with the same method. Kyle and Eric are already in
route. According the Kollos, we got less than twenty minutes to hold AXIS
off!”
————————————————————————
Kollos quickly went to the weapons locker, grabbed a phaser and tossed one
to David.
David checked the phaser and frowned. “Have these been retuned?.”
“I don’t know.” Kollos answered as his eyes widened. “Let’s find out!”
He pulled David aside and fired his phaser at a Borg, which had appeared
from the shadows. The beam caught the drone in the chest, sending it
convulsing to the floor.
Kollos grinned. “I’m gonna say ‘yes’.”
They both positioned themselves back to back.
“Make your shots count.” David whispered. “We got four shots at the most
before they adapt…”
————————————————————————
“Where are we?” Dimitri whispered to Krag as they crawled through a
Jefferies tube.
The Nausican checked his tricorder. “Near deck 8. If we take the ladder just
ahead to deck 10, we should our checkpoint before preceding to engineering.”
“Good.” Dimtri tapped his combadge. “Shelly, what’s you’re status.?”
“Not so good, sir.” She answered back. “We got cornered on deck twelve!
We’ve being pushed away from engineering. It’s gonna be up to you guys.
“Acknowledged.” He checked his time-piece he faceted around his neck. “Your
orders are to stay alive for next six minutes! Do what you have to. Just
don’t get caught.”
“Acknowledged. Shelly out.”
He turned to Krag. “It’s just you and me, kid.”
Krag snarled. “We will crush them!”
Dimitri grinned. “It sounds like a plan to me. Let’s move.”
————————————————————————
Kollos and David slowly made their way toward the command console.
“Computer” David called out. “Initiate Borg-Contingency, authorization
Gerard-beta-9”
‘SYSTEM ACTIVATED’ the computer responded.
“How long do you think I’ll hold them out?” Kollos asked.
David sighed. “Hopefully, long enough.”
Just then, the seal to a Jefferies tube, popped off behind them. They turned
to find, Kyle and Eric pulling themselves into the room.
Kyle was the first one to his feet. “Here’s the cavalry.”
David and Kollos stared at Eric who was in bad shape.
The Slayer smiled. “Don’t worry. He doesn’t control me yet. But I hope you
guys have a plan, because we’re coming with nothing…”
‘HOPE IS IRRELEVENT.’ a voice suddenly called out from the shadows.
David flinched and fired in that direction. His shot was accurate, but no
effective. From the darkened corner, Axis slowly walked into the light.
“DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND SURRENDER.” It smiled. “THE AXIS POWER IS
ABSOLUTE…”
————————————————————————
Dimitri followed Krag from the Jefferies tube just as his timepiece started
to beep.
“Four minutes to go. How far are we from Engineering?” Dimitri asked his
Chief of Security.
“Not far. If we…”
Before Krag could answer, he saw an alien transporter beam wash over the
Commodore. He tried to grab him, but the transport was instantaneous.
“Axis…”
————————————————————————
Dimitri rematerialize inside of engineering. As he regained his senses, he
noticed three bodies lying unconscious in the corner. He quietly made his
way over to them and turned them over.
It looked as if Kollos, David and Kyle were in the process of being
assimilated. He checked his time on a nearby computer screen. “Hold on guys.
You need to hold on a little bit longer
“THEY PUT UP A GOOD FIGHT, COMMODORE.” Axis called out. ” ESPECIALLY THE
TRILL AND THE BORG SLAYER. YOU WOULD’VE BEEN PROUD.”
Dimitri scanned the area until he found the Borg-God at the main engineering
station.
“THE TRILL AND THE SLAYER WERE FORMABLE. THEY ARRIVED JUST AS I ASSIMILATED
YOUR TWO OFFICERS. ERIC MANAGED TO ESCAPE. NO MATTER. HIS DEATH IS
INEVITABLE.”
He was attempting to access the timewarp console, but a force field had been
erected.
“I CAN’T SEEM TO PENETRATE THIS SHIELDING TECHNOLOGY.” The monster turned
and smiled and Dimitri. “THE QUEEN’S HANDY WORK, NO DOUBT. NO MATTER. YOU
WILL ASSIST ME IN GAINING CONTROL OF THE PRIMARY FUNCTIONS.”
As Axis slowly walked toward Dimitri, the Commodore did his best to keep his
distance. “And why would I do that?”
“BECAUSE THE ALTERNATIVE WOULD BE PAINFUL FOR YOU AND YOUR CREW.”
Dimitri grabbed one of the phasers littering the floor. He tried to retune
it. “You’re gonna kill us anyway.”
“DEATH WOULD BE MERCIFUL. I CAN MAKE IT QUICK, OR DRAG IT OUT FOR AN
ETERNITY. THE AXIS POWER IS ABSOLUTE.”
“Yadda, yadda, yadda…” Dimitri fired the phaser at Axis. The beam as met by
a greenish force field which surrounded him.
He smiled. “I HAVE ADAPTED.”
Someone stirred in the shadows behind AXIS. When Eric Beckett’s haggard face
appeared from dark corner, Dimitri knew he had to work the situation to his
advantage.
“O.K., Axis. What do I get in return for releasing my command codes? I’m
thinking about a corner of the galaxy where me and my crew can live in
peace. What do you think?”
“UNEXCEPTABLE.” Axis stopped walking. “YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED. YOU WILL
BECOME PART OF THE COLLECTIVE.”
Dimitri remained silent for the next couple of seconds. Axis stared at him
puzzled.
“WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?”
The Commodore looked ambiguous. “Huh? Oh, nothing. I just remembered, this
is the part of the plot where us ‘good guys’ pull a rabbit out of our hat
and save the day.”
>From the shadows, Eric tossed one of his ‘Chrono-phase Grenades’ at Axis.
“YES. I GUESS IT IS. BUT THIS TIME IT IS DIFFERENT….”
Without looking behind himself, Axis reached out and caught the small orb as
soon as it was in range. He squeezed it until it shattered underneath the
pressure.
“…THE STORY IS MINE TO CREATE.”
Eric tried to rush him from the shadows. But as he came close, AXIS caught
him by the neck and picked him up off of his feet. Dimitri watched in horror
as his vice grib crushed the Borg Slayer’s neck. His lifeless body toppled
to the floor.
Axis grinned. “YOU’RE LAST HOPE HAS BEEN CRUSHED, COMMODORE.” He started to
walk toward him, but Dimitri held his ground. “THE AXIS POWER IS ABSOLUTE.
YOU DO UNDERSTAND THAT NOW, DON’T YOU?”
Dimitri nodded. “You’re too strong for us to fight. And we knew that from
the start.”
“YET YOU STILL FOUGHT ME WITH YOUR LIVES?”
Dimtri started strole around. “Oh, we never expected to defeat you and your
drones in combat. We just needed to keep you occupied.”
At that moment, the computer sprang to life with a series of automated
beeps.
Axis turned to the computer. “WHAT WAS THAT?”
Dimitri smiled. “I’m not sure, but I’m thinking that would be that rabbit
coming out the hat.”
Axis turned back to him. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?”
“The timewarp system we rigged to restore the timeline needed a big burst of
energy to initiate a temporal shock-wave. There wasn’t anything on-hand to
generate enough power…” He turned toward the computer and pointed to the
automated countdown, which had been inconspicuously on the screen all the
time. “…except for a warp core breech.”
‘WARNING.’ The computer sounded. ‘AUTOMATED SELF DESTRUCT IN THIRTEEN
SECONDS….’
Anger grew in Axis. “THIS IS ILLOGICAL! YOU WIL BE DESTROYED!”
“It’s doesn’t matter!” Dimitri drew face to face with him. “All this never
happened!”
‘TEN SECONDS’
Axis pushed the Commodore to the floor and ran toward the computer station.
The force field stopped him in his tracks.
‘SEVEN SECONDS’
He pounded on the invisible barrier, but it wouldn’t give. Furiously, he
stomped over to Dimtri and picked him up off his feet until they were eye to
eye.
“YOU WILL COMPLY WITH MY ORDERS AND RELEASE THE COMMMAND CODES!!!” he
screetched.
‘FIVE SECONDS…’
Dimitri smiled in defiance. “No.”
‘FOUR’’
At that moment, the time jump engines executed the mathematical computations
to generate the temporal shock-wave. All it needed was aN energy surge to
execute it.
Axis grew irate as his eyes darted between the Commodore and the computer
screen. He had planned for all contingencies. He had studied all
possibilities and compensated for anything that could happen? all except for
the illogical irrationability of the human species.”
‘THREE’
He had lost. There was nothing he could do to stop the inevitable. ‘THE AXIS
POWER IS ABSOLUTE!!!”
‘TWO’
Axis screamed in defiance. “RESISTENCE IS FUTILE!!!”
‘ONE’
Dimitri’s smile transformed into a snarl. “Resistence is human!”
‘SELF DESTRUCT ENABLED…”
————————————————————————
ACT 3: SAME AS IT EVER WAS…
“Wait up, sir!” David Gerard called to Commodore Dimitri Andreyevich, who
was quickly strolling the corridors aboard the U.S.S. Atlantis.
“Get a move on, Lieutenant.” Dimtri answered. “I’ve got 45 minutes left of
holodeck time before I’m back on duty. And when we engage the holo-novel,
don’t call me ‘Sir’, anymore. My character is named Professor Van Helsing.”
David finally caught up with his commanding officer, almost out of breath.
“Van Helsing? As in Dracula?” he smiled when Dimitri nodded to him. “Sounds
like fun. Tell me, do I get to bite people?”
Just as Dimitri began to answer him, a sharp burst of nausea washed over
him. In a wave of painful chills, the queeziness caused him to stumble
backwards into the corridor wall. Light-headed, he glanced over at David,
who now was on his knees clutching his head. And in that few seconds, a
flood of painful images of a possible future washed through his mind.
Events, which spanned the next two weeks ahead came to him in one great
burst. The blast was so intense, it jerked him from his resting place on the
wall and onto the floor.
Gradually, the feeling faded away, leaving the two of them, as well as
everyone else in the corridor fatigued. Dimitri and David both rose to their
feet and then looked at each other.
David frowned, trying to read the look on the Commodore’s face. The memories
were vivid, yet scrambled? as if he had just experienced some sort of crazy
dream.
“Sir?” said trying to gain his composure. It had to be a dream.
Dimitri had only one response. “AXIS…” It wasn’t a dream…
Dimitri tapped his combadge. “The Commodore to the bridge!”
“Uh… Lt. Casey here, Sir.” …” Shelly answered back. “It seems… like the…
crew as hit with some type of…”
“Look alive, Lieutenant! It wasn’t dream you experienced. The time-jump from
the other reality was successful.” He grabbed David by the uniform and
pulling him along. “David and I are on our way to the bridge! Take us to
maximum warp! We’ve got less than thirty minutes before the Borg artifact
engages the temporal shockwave!”
The U.S.S. Atlantis went to Red Alert…
————————————————————————
Just outside of the Nuvellis system, a large spherical Borg ship streaks
away at high-warp. Close behind, an Emperial Destroyer from the Kadre Empire
followed in close pursute. Both ships firing a full battery of weapons at
each other.
Lagging behind, the damage Helix raced to join the battle. At that moment on
the bridge, Mia looked up at Kyle with a crazed look on her face. Tears
streamed down her cheeks. “I’m commander of the team now! And we have to
destroy AXIS now before he does anymore damage!!!” she stood up and put her
hand on Kyle’s shoulder. “It’s what Alex would’ve wanted. But he’s dead
now.”
Ian checked the sensors. “I’m getting readings from the sphere. The Kadre
destroyer has engaged the Borg.” A couple seconds passed. “The Kadre
destroyer, has been destroyed.”
Mia walked to Tash. “Put out an emergency message on all frequencies! Notify
everyone within distance that the Borg have started their invasion! Let
everyone know the sphere must be destroyed at all cost. And when that’s
done, initiate the Borg Protocol.”
Tash shook his head. “We don’t have the power to pull it off. Even if we….”
“I’m not asking for excuses! MAKE IT HAPPEN!”
Without another word, Tash nodded and left the bridge for engineering.
Mia found her way the command chair. “This is bad. This is very….”
Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kyle stumble backwards. He
clutched his head he met the floor and started to roll around in pain.
Mia ran for him and tapped her combadge. “Mia to Jann! We have a medical
emergency on the bridge!”
Kyle tried to understand the mass of images being forced into his brain all
at once. But the sensation was overwhelming. All the painful memories
manifesting within him at once. The attacks from AXIS, the destruction of
the Borg array, the death of Mia- they all hit him in one single wave of
intensity.
“Kyle, what’s wrong?” Mia asked. “What’s happeing?”
Kyle forced himself to his knees, clinching his eyes shut. “Must destroy….
array….” His voice was shaky. “We just lost…. left nacelle…” he grabbed Mia
by the shouder. “Resistance is…” Suddenly his eyes opened wide to stare
directly at Mia.
It was as if she was staring into the eyes of a stranger. Mia saw that for a
split second, he had no idea where he was. And as the cloudiness started to
clear in his mind, Kyle began to smile. He gently touch her cheek and then
gave her a light slap.
“Glad to have you back, Captain.” He said with a smile.
“Captain?” she replied, also with a smile. “When did I get the promotion?”
Kyle didn’t pay attention to her comment. “Son-of-a-bitch… It worked!”
“What worked?” Mia asked.
Kyle’s expression changed from happy to concerned. “It doesn’t matter. All
you need to know is that the AXIS EXPERIMENT succeeded… or WILL succeed if
we don’t pull this off!” tapped his combadge. “Tash when will the Borg
Protocols be online?”
“Three minutes.” Tash called back.
Kyle turned to Mia. “Alright, I’ve got roughly ten minutes to tell you what
happen to me…. to us…” he sat Mia down. “But first, we have a plan.”
Mia looked at him puzzled. “We?”
————————————————————————
Five minutes ahead of the Borg sphere, a fleet of seven Starships raced on
an intercept course at maximum warp. The U.S.S. Maximillian, a
Sovereign-Class starship led the way as the other ships followed in a ‘V’
formation.
On board, Captain Joseph Hennig wandered from station to station on the
bridge checking with his officers on their readiness. They had been out of
dry-dock for only two months, but his crew was one of the best in the fleet.
“Captain?” the helmsman called out. “The Borg ship has changed its course
and now heading directly for us.”
“Go to red alert.” Joseph ordered. “Notify the rest of the fleet to take
their positions.”
On the view screen, the giant sphere appeared and the bridge crew held their
breath.”
“Don’t give in to fear.” Joseph reassured his crew. “We’ve beaten them back
twice before. This is no different. All we have to do is keep them occupied
until the cavalry arrives.”
Captain Hennig then saw the two dozen shimmering, projectiles which sprang
from the sphere. “Incoming fire, evasive maneuvers!”
Hennig held his breath…
————————————————————————
“Mia?” Tash called out aboard the Helix. “I’m getting readings. Starfleet
has just engaged the sphere.”
“Time to intercept?” she asked him.
“They’ve slowed to impulse, so we should arrive in roughly six minutes.”
Mia turned to her navigator. “Ian, let’s enable the Shield Pulsar like Kyle
said. Then tranmit the Borg’s shield harmonic frequency to the coordinates
Kyle specified.”
She then turned to Trill warrior. “I hope this works.”
Kyle shrugged. “It did before…”
————————————————————————
The U.S.S. Maximillian veered hard to the right as the Borg torpedoes raced
at the fleet. Two of the other ships weren’t so lucky. The torpedoes passed
through their shields and struck head on into their saucer sections. The
Crazyhorse and the Pittsburg sustained major damage.
“Two ships were hit!” the tactical officer of the Maximillian reported to
her captain. “Both are out of the the fight, Sir!”
Captain Hennig held on to his chair and his ship tilted steeply. “Tell the
fleet to spread out. Don’t give them easy targets! Attack pattern Sierra!
Remember, we just need to keep them occupied!”
While the other ships pushed outward drawing the sphere’s fire, the
Maximillian raced head on, unleashing a series of phaser shots. But the Borg
sphere was unaffected and replied with its own burst of phaser fire. Even
with full shields, the Maximillian’s shields buckled under the blast.
The engineering station exploded, sending an officer’s lifeless body to the
floor. The tactical officer quickly took his place.
Suddenly the operations console went crazy. “Captain, incoming quantum
torpedo…from behind us!!!”
Hennig knew there was no time for countermeasures. “Brace for impact!!” he
yelled and the crew complied. But from the view screen, the bridge crew
watched the torpedo pass closely over them and streak directly for the
sphere.
The impact seemed to engulf the entire sphere, but it primarily sent a shock
wave across its shields.
“Sir!” the helmsman rejoiced. “That blast took the Borg’s shields offline!
Their defenseless!”
Hennig suddenly saw a small unidentified ship streak past them take on the
sphere. He had never seen such a small ship with so much firepower. The
sphere immediately pulled its guns off of the starships and focused on the
Helix.
“Incoming message, sir. It’s another Starfleet vessel… The Atlantis.” The
communications officer said.
“Put it through.” Hennig replied. Instantly, the image of the Atlantis’
commanding officer appeared onscreen. “Thanks for the assist, Commodore?” he
commanded.
“No time for congrads, Captain. You need to pull your ships out of there!”
“I don’t understand?”
“I can’t explain right now, Captain. You’re gonna have to trust me.”
Normally, Hennig was a man who demanded justification for unusual actions.
But looking into Dimitri’s eyes, he had a feeling to trust the man.
“Understood!” the Captain replied as the image disappeared. He turned to the
commas officer. “Radio the fleet. We can’t wait for the cavalry. All ships
are to fire one last volley at the Borg and fall back!”
The Starship fleet quickly responded and sent a melee of firepower at the
sphere. And this time, their efforts were paying off. The Federation
battleships crawled over the Borg craft like masquitos, their hit and run
tactics keeping the sphere of balance. After the initial attack, the fleet
quickly pushed their way out of the sphere’s range.
————————————————————————
Commodore Dimitri Andreyevich watched the viewscreen as the Helix entered
the battlefield and paused ahead of the Borg sphere in defiance.
He glanced back at Lt. Shelly Casey. “Wait for Kyle’s signal. We’re only
gonna get one shot at this.”
Then he motioned to Security Officer Krag. The Nausican walked to the
Commodore’s side. “Put the security detail on alert.”
————————————————————————
Mia took her place at tactical and tried to find a weapon in the Helix’s
arsenal to disable the Borg sphere. “Tash, take Meta-Shields offline and
ready the protocols.”
As Jann and Ian entered the bridge, Tash accessed the computer’s
directories, his hand shaking and sweaty. “What Kyle is proposing is nuts!
There’s a good chance this won’t work!”
Just as Mia began to access the weapon’s program, the view screen image went
fuzzy. “We really don’t have a…”
“Incoming message.” Tash said.
They expected the grand unveiling of the new AXIS onscreen. But the message
was ‘audio only’. “DRONE DESIGNATE: AXIS COMPATIBLE FOR PHASE 3; INITIATE…”
Kyle breathed in deep. “On my mark!”
YOU… ARE… TOO… LATE…”
All power on the bridge suddenly went dead.
“Tash, activate reserve power cells!?” Mia called out.
“Reserve power cells are online!. The are standing ready!.”
At first, Kyle felt a faint tingling in his stomach. It felt as if something
was growing. But the unusual feeling suddenly turned into a wrenching of his
internal organs. He grabbed his chest and slumped against a nearby console.
“It’s starting!!!” he yelled.
Mia turned around in time to see him drop to his knees and scream in agony.
She tapped her combadge. “Mia to Commodore Andreyevich!!!! ENERGIZE!!!”
Kyle slammed his fist on the console. “Tash, NOW!!!!”
“Borg Protocols, engaged!!!!” Just as Tash’s finger brushed the enabled
button, a massive transport beam washed over all of them.
‘BORG PROTOCOLS ENABLED’ the computer sounded. ‘WARP ENGINES ENAGE IN 5
SECONDS’..
As the five remaining members of Team Helix disappeared from the bridge,
they could still hear the final words of the monster called AXIS.
“YOU… ARE… TOO… LATE…”
————————————————————————
The Borg sphere began to collapse in on itself. But as a temporal shockwave
began to develop, an automated Starship Helix suddenly activated the device,
which brought them from their original universe: ‘The Fold System’. In the
span of a nano-second, the Borg sphere generate it’s temporal shockwave. At
the same time, in the exact point in space, the Helix creates a spatial time
rift, which it would normally use to transport itself across the galaxy. But
this time, the combination of temporal occurances proved to be volatile.
And in a final act if defiance, the Helix pushed into warp and sped directly
into the sphere. The small ship plowed into and through the sphere, causing
it shatter on impact. The Helix emerged from the explosion as a fiery ball
of mangle metal and contined to topple away from the explosion like a small
comet.
The AXIS EXPERIMENT was destroyed before it could be created….
————————————————————————
The bridge crew cheered in victory as the crew of the Helix rematerialized
in front of them.
“What happened?” Kyle said as he went to Dimitri’s side. But his question
was answer by the front viewscreen, which show the massive explosion that
use to be the Borg artifact.
The Commodore turned to Lt. Casey. “Radio the rest of the attack fleet. Let
them know the threat has been neutralized.” He then stood and extended his
hand to Kyle. “Good job, Mr. Kyle.” He had to smile. “Damn good job.”
Amidst the makeshift celebration, Kyle looked across the room to find Tash
holding Mia in his arms. And it was then, he realized their true tragedy.
Alex was gone….
Dimtri gave a slight nod Krag, and the Nausican motioned to his security
staff on the bridge.
As Kyle tried to walk over to console his friend, his path was blocked by
two security officers with phasers.
In shock, Kyle turned to Dimitri. “Commodore, what the hell is going on?”
Mia and Tash tried to stand, but they were also cornered by security.
Krag walked to Kyle. “You are a great warrior, Trill. I have seen that with
my own eyes. That is why it will pain me to do my duty as the Chief Security
Officer of his ship!”
Kyle frowned at Krag in surprise, but he knew the Nausican was just doing
his duty. There was only one man he could direct his anger at.
Dimitri slowly rose from the command chair and made his way to Kyle. The
look on his face told everyone he didn’t want to do this. But he’s a
Starfleet officer- a dedicated officer with a reputation for carrying out
his order with perfection.
Kyle was in shock. “Don’t do this, Dimitri. We’ve just lost our ship and our
Captain- our friend. Please, don’t do this.”
Dimitri wanted to tell help him. He wanted to tell Team Helix that he was
going to let them go. And if it was just him in the room, he probably
would’ve done it. But his crew was watching. He had to set an example. He
had to show them that a command officer has to carry out his orders, even if
those orders are painful.
“I’m sorry Kyle, but I have my orders. Our original mission was to find and
apprehend you and turn you in to Starfleet security.” He sighed.
“Fortunately, they only specified you, Alex, and the two Vulcans. The
Bajorans are free to go.”
“No!!” Jann Jaxa yelled. “We’re not leaving our people!”
“Yes you will!” Kyle cut her off. “It’s over, Jann. I’m formally disbanding
Team Helix and I want you and Ian to get a shuttle and return to Bajor until
all this gets cleared up.” He glanced over at Mia and Tash and they nodded
in agreement.
“Lt. Casey..” Dimitri ordered. “Confine Jann Jaxa and Ian Rojeti to some
quarters.”
And then he turned to Kyle, who had made his way to the others. He took a
deep breath and completed his mission. ” Kyle K’nar, Mia & Tash Gan An’War,
by order of Starfleet Security, you are here by placed into custody for
multiple counts of crimes against the United Federation of Planets…”
————————————————————————
EPILOGUE: CHANGING OF THE GUARD
It had been almost three days since Commodore Andreyevich had gotten any
sleep. The dark rings around his eyes were a testimate to his guilt of
bringing in Team Helix. Although he believed that they should pay for their
illegal activities, he also understood that ‘abiding the law’ and ‘doing the
right thing’, were sometimes on opposing sides. As he walked the halls of
Starfleet Headquarters, he felt good for the fact that his crew were given
two weeks of shore-leave for their efforts aboard the Atlantis.
When he reached Admiral Cynthia Porter’s office, he took a moment to gain
his composure. But before he could gather his senses, the door slip open.
He promptly entered and faced the large chair, which was facing the window.
“Commodore Andreyevich reporting, ma’am.”
“As you were…” a strange voice replied.
The chair swiveled around and Dimitri locked eyes with a stranger.
“I’m sorry. I thought I was in Admiral Porter’s office.”
“You are…” the stranger replied. “…or, at least it was. Admiral Porter died
in a tragic accident recently.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
The stranger stood and walked from behind the desk. Dimitri noticed his
Starfleet uniform was all-black and he had no recognizable rank on his
collar.
The stranger held out his hand to Dimitri. “I’m Deputy Director Chapel,
Starfleet Special Investigations.” They shook hands. “I’ve been put in
charge of investigating the Admiral’s death. And what are you doing here?”
Dimitri handed the Chapel a message pad. “I’m here to give the Admiral my
closed case file.”
“Ah yes, the Helix crew.” Chapel smiled. “Nice work, Commodore. I’ll handle
it from here. You can go.”
“Sir, I have… something I’d like to add.”
Chapel motioned for him to continue.
“I know that Team Helix are criminals and they need to answer for their
crimes. To be honest, I don’t know what they did. But what I do know is they
fought honorably and courageously out there. I think the fact that they
risked their lives to fight that Borg sphere should also be noted during
their sentencing. And if you don’t mind sir, I’d like to be there to make
sure the ruling counsel understands.”
“I wish I could allow that Commodore…” Chapel leaned back against the desk.
“…but the Helix situation is special. I’m afraid there will be no formal
inquiry. It’s a matter for the S.S.I. to deal with. But don’t worry. They’re
going to be treated as fairly as they deserve.” He finished up with a smile.
Dimitri could sense there was something sinister about the Deputy Director.
But the case was no longer in his hands. He had fufilled his obligation.
He promptly nodded in agreement and left the office, leaving Chapel to
ponder his next move.
He took his seat again and swiveled his chair back toward the stars.
————————————————————————
At that moment, Admiral Cynthia Porter deleted the last of the files on her
computer and then incinerated it with a klingon disruptor rifle. Twenty
minutes ago, she had gotten the word from one of her operatives, Section 31
had begun the process of shutting down THE PROGRAM.
For any other organization, it would mean being reassigned to another post.
But the Section’s procedures were considerably different, and a lot more
deadly. They viewed the cancelled operation as a cancer within the body of
the organization. And when that cancer threatened the safety of the rest of
the body, it need to be expunged completely.
Twenty minutes ago, at 0400 hours, SCT (Starfleet Command Time), the
eradication of PROGRAM safe houses and operatives commenced. Reports from
thirty of her most valued strategic locations came in describing unknown
troops infultrating and incinerating all files, equipment and individuals
affiliated with THE PROGRAM.
She had expected this to happen further down the road. She thought she would
have enough time to get her people and strategies in order. She shouldíve
known Chapel would catch her off guard. He needed to make sure that no one
escaped alive, no evidence of the PROGRAMSí decades of manipulation ever
came to light.
She tapped her combadge. “This is Porter, stand by to beam me…”
Before she could finish the sentence, four starfleet officers entered the
room with weapons in-hand.
“Hold it there, Admiral.” The lead officer said.
Cynthia slowly raised her closed fists in the air. “Ensign Briggs, what the
hell do you think you’re doing?”
The Admiral knew who Briggs was. She had used him on a number of PROGRAM
assignments. It was apparent he wasn’t there to offer her assistance.
“Admiral…” Briggs replied. “…by order of Starfleet Security, I’m placing you
under arrest for crimes against the United Federation of Planets.”
“Excuse my language, son. But this whole thing is a pile of horse crap, and
you know it.” She slowly lowered her hands. “You know I’ve done nothing but
serve the Federation since I first put on this uniform. What your doing now
is leading me to the slaughter.”
Usually she would expect some type of emotional response from Briggs, but
his face remained expressionless. “I have my orders, ma’am. You’re coming
with us.”
As he motioned for the other officers to grab her, Cynthia Porter made her
move.
“I wouldn’t do that, kid” she said slowly opening her right palm to reveal a
small device. “This is a Romulan ‘death-charge’ detonator. I’ve wired this
entire compound with enough photon charges to level a small moon. You take
one move, and we all go to a better place.”
“That’s not going to solve anything, ma’am. Either way, I can’t let you
leave this place free.”
In that instant, the former Admiral came to grips with her fate. Her sweaty
palm gripped the detonator tightly and allowed herself to weep.
“I’m sorry you got caught up in this, Briggs.” Then she stretched her mouth
wide into one final fiendish grin. “But I’ll make it up to you when we make
to hell…”
Ensign Briggs and his squad fired their phasers…
Admiral Cynthia Porter activated the detonator…
————————————————————————
At that moment, deep within a makeshift compound on the planet of Bajor, a
holy woman and her trusted aid made their way through an endless maze of
corridors. They could hear the urgent commotion ahead of them, and they
could see a host of Bajoran mercenaries standing outside of a large cargo
bay.
“He awoke a few moment ago.” The aid told Kai Rhynelle. “The rest of the
implants the scientists couldn’t removed seem just fall off once he was
conscious. It was… remarkable!”
“Would you expect anything else…” the Kai responded. “…from this pinnacle
moment in history, child?” Rhynelle knew the aid would not respond. When
they both received word that a large alien artifact had fallen from a large,
black hole in the clouds, they knew it was the holy sign which was
documented in the unwritten scriptures of the Prophets; a prophecy which was
passed down through the generations. Upon retrieving the artifact, they
found and quickly removed the humanoid body and quickly began efforts to
resuscitate it back to life. And now, after almost two months, the ‘Anomaly’
had awaken.
When they reached the cargo bay, the Kai waved the mercenaries give her
room. As the sea of people parted, her eyes fell upon a figure which was
huddled in the darkened corner of the room. From the look of the place, she
could tell that his journey back to consciousness was a violent one.
The the man sensed her presence in the room, he tried to pull away more.
“There is no need to be alarmed, stranger.” Rhynelle calmly said, holding
her palms forward. “There is no danger. You are among friends, here.”
She slowly approached the feral man, who was now backed into the corner,
down to one knee. She could tell he was in pain. His naked body was drenched
with sweat and he had a violent case of shivers.
She slowly approached him and also knelt to one knee. “I am Kai Rhynelle.”
She smiled at him. “I have been waiting for you all my life. You have walked
within the light and the darkness. The prophets have given you the knowledge
of all things that makes up the universe. Now you are ready for your quest.
Everything that has happened to you from the moment of your inception has
been to prepare you for what lies ahead.”
At that moment, the man flinched in pain, causing Rhynelle and her deciples
to pull away from him.
“The pain will pass.” She assured him. “Now, can you talk? I need to know if
you can understand me.”
For the first time, the man slowly raised his head and Rhynelle stared into
his crazed eyes. She could see the pain in his soul. She couldn’t fathom
what he must have endured to be deemed worthy of the prophecy.
“Who are you?” she asked him. He started to open his mouth, but instead
tried to lower his head in fatigue.
Quickly, Rhynelle grabbed hin by the hair and pulled his head up until they
were, again eye to eye. “I’m sorry to put you throught this, but I need to
know! Who are you?!” Impatience started to grow within her. “State — your —
designation!!!”
The man opened his mouth and spoke for the first time. “DESIGNATION: ALEX
GARRETT…”
THE END
NEXT EPISODE: INTERVIEW WITH A VULCAN