Worlds Without End, Part IX

Two days after the alliance had become official, Picard and Seven were escorted aboard the Incaciad to meet with Admiral Thrawn in person. No one had said why, but there was a grim atmosphere that was impossible to ignore. The armored personnel, whom Picard had learned were called "stormtroopers" -bringing up some rather nasty images from his studies of the twentieth century- led him to the conference room where Thrawn and several other high-ranking officers were waiting. Thrawn motioned Picard and Seven to take a seat.

"I'm afraid we have some rather unpleasant business to discuss," Thrawn began. "As you may or may not have known, the Empire has been at war with the Borg for over a month now."

"Yes," Picard said, his voice even, "we noticed Borg weapon signatures on one of your ships when we first arrived. We'd been waiting to hear what exactly was going on."

Thrawn sighed and continued. "We sent a fleet of ships in to deal with the Borg, to cause them some damage and show them we weren't to be trifled with. Unfortunately, according to Lt. Taar," he nodded in the direction of the scruffy looking gentlemen across the table from Picard, "it seems we underestimated them. The Borg have defeated our forces and assimilated our people."

Picard leaned forward in his chair, his mouth open in shock. The Borg with Imperial technology, he thought. That was the worst possible scenario he could imagine. "How did this happen?" Lt. Taar went over what he had seen of the climactic battle between the Borg and the Imperial fleet, of its annihilation, his near capture, and his witnessing the destruction of Base One.

"Admiral Piett made a fatal error," Thrawn said. "He moved the entire fleet in to bombard the planet, when the task could have been completed by a single star destroyer. That led to their being trapped."

Picard looked to Seven, his confusion evident. "The hyperdrive can't be activated near a large gravitational field," she explained. "I would surmise that the fleet was unable to activate the drive and escape, and was then assimilated."

"Correct," Thrawn said. "And immediately they knew all that we do, that's why they took over Base One."

"Yes, it seems your little war has backfired," Picard commented despite himself. However much he wanted this alliance, mixing things up with the Borg was always the last thing he wanted to do.

"Our little war," Thrawn replied, "remember, we're allies now."

"Yes, we will assist in whatever way we can," Picard added diplomatically.

"Good, that's why I asked you to come to this meeting. We need to know some things about the Borg."

Picard nodded slowly. "You mean our first hand experience as Borg."

"Yes," Thrawn said. "We have tactical data. What we need is someone with your unique experience. You two were both assimilated by the Collective. You should be able to give me some insight into their ways of thinking."

Picard let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't really know..."

"What do you wish to know?" Seven asked.

"The Borg have had access to much of our military technology," Thrawn said. "I've no doubt they've learned to use our hyperdrive for certain, which means that their speed and range will be greater than what it has been in the past. What I want to know is, will they come through the wormhole, or continue to conquer in their own galaxy?"

Seven considered for a moment. "Did the members of your personnel who were assimilated know of our involvement with you?"

Thrawn looked over at the man identified as Lt. Taar. "I didn't know," Taar said. "But I can't speak for the senior officers."

"In either event," Picard said, "the personnel on the space station, Base One, knew of our arrival. If the Borg assimilated them, they'd know of our involvement."

Seven considered it all for a short time. "There is a small possibility the Borg may attempt to assimilate the Federation since the Borg know they possess similar technology." Seven paused for a few seconds. "However, the most likely course of action would be to come through the wormhole. They would perceive the Empire as an immediate threat and attempt assimilation and/or extermination."

Quite the diplomat, Picard thought. "We'll have to warn Starfleet," he said.

Thrawn shook his head while he thought. "Unwise captain. If the Borg were planning on invading our galaxy they'd mass a fleet of cubes on the other side, you'd never get through to reach them, and your communications would take years to get to Earth."

"I understand the risks," Picard said. "But it's my duty to warn the Federation of any threat, especially one from the Borg."

"I can't risk losing your ship, captain," Thrawn said. "You and your people have been at this longer than we have-"

"Yes, which is why I've no interest in seeing us lose now," Picard said sharply. "All thanks to a war you started."

Thrawn leaned forward towards Picard. "We have lost ten star destroyers, a space station, hundreds of thousands of lives, and our greatest ship against an enemy that you introduced us to. If not for the Federation, there would have been no war."

Picard paused. "My apologies, admiral. You're right, of course. What do you propose?"

Thrawn signaled several of his aides, who got up and began walking out. "I've had thirty Imperial Dreadnaughts on standby in case of such an event. They'll be arriving here in twelve hours. I've already evacuated Napuli, Cordis, Trelam, and issued warnings to all systems within five hundred light-years. We'll be expecting reinforcements from throughout the galaxy should a total invasion begin. I'm also planning on speaking with the Emperor directly on this."

"Are you planning to blockade the wormhole?"

"No," Thrawn said. "That would be a waste of resources in a fruitless effort. The Borg will overrun us, assimilate the system anyway, and then proceed to attack the rest of the galaxy, and that's assuming they haven't already passed through the wormhole. No captain, our best course of action is to remain here and await reinforcements to ensure our victory. Now, if you'll excuse me, captain, I have to speak with the Emperor."

Picard and Seven were escorted back to the shuttle. The Incaciad had their shields up all the time now; now it was obvious that it was in case the Borg returned. Seven took the controls, Picard lounged back in thought. "What chance does the Federation have?" he asked quietly.

"None, captain," Seven said. "The Borg's first failure was in failing to consider that you may infiltrate non-critical systems yet cause a critical failure. The second was assuming that since that was the sole cause of their initial failure, that simply sending a cube and avoiding such infiltration was all that was required. If the Borg come again, it will be in superior numbers, captain, and even if the Federation does succeed, the hyperdrive will allow the next wave to come before you can recover from the first. If the Borg choose to assimilate the Federation, warning or no, they cannot be stopped."

Picard tried to ignore the tightness in his chest, but it wasn't easy. "How could they have done this so quickly?" he mused. "It took Starfleet weeks to determine how to set up the hyperdrive, and that was with one already integrated into our ships."

"They are Borg," Seven said, as if it said all. Sadly, it did.

"How would you feel if Earth was assimilated?" Picard asked.

Seven looked over at him with that penetrating gaze of hers. "I assume that question is intended to determine where my loyalties lie."

"It would make me feel better to know you have a personal stake in it," Picard said. Seven opened her mouth to reply, then turned away. "I assume you don't."

"I- I had spent over two years with Voyager," Seven said finally, still not looking at him. "Were the Borg to invade, they would no doubt be part of those forced to defend Earth. It would be... unpleasant to learn that any of them had been assimilated."

"So you do care, at least about them."

"I would not wish to see harm come to them," Seven said. "If I may, captain, I find this conversation uncomfortable, and wish to terminate it."

"Very well," Picard said, putting the information aside for later consideration. He was wondering if there was more to his advisor than her appearance suggested.

A large gathering had formed in the recreation area on board Home One. Occasionally, a whispered comment was made, followed by several noises for quiet. The rebels looked carefully at both sides, trying to guess who would make the wrong move, and who would take advantage of the other's momentary weakness.

Han slowly looked back from his hand to the man across the table. Lando's face betrayed nothing, and the smuggler slowly removed a card from his hand and placed it beneath the deck, replacing it with one from the top. Now it was Lando's turn to consider his options. Finally, he reached forward and drew a card off the top of the deck.

Leia, slowly slid through the crowd to get a good look at the two men; gamblers, scoundrels, heroes. She shifted over by Wedge, who had been forced out of the match by a bomb out. Han looked over at Lando and gave a slight nod, and they both took two card from their hands and placed them face up on the table. Curious, Leia whispered to Wedge "What are they doing?"

Very quietly, he replied, "Mandalorian variant. No shifting, and you have to slowly reveal and commit your hand." Looking back, she saw things were getting even more interesting. Lando had laid the mistress of coins and the one of staves, a rather gutsy move, committing him to a rather low card later on. Han, however, surprised all with a two of staves and the idiot. All he needed was the three of any suit for the idiot's array, the highest possible sabacc hand. Acknowledging each other's hands, they dropped more credits into the pots.

You could actually hear the sound of the cards sliding off the deck as the game continued. Han continued to replace cards in his hand, waiting for that game clinching three, while Lando steadily continued, soon dropping a four of coins. Both men drew one more card, and Lando announced that he was finished. Triumphantly, he placed his final card: the five of sabers. A few gasps of surprise were heard as they counted them up: a perfect sabacc. Lando had this hand clinched, unless Han held a three.

Slowly Han reached out and placed his card on the bottom of the deck. His fingers stopped just as he reached for the top card. "I'll give you one chance to back out right now," he said to Lando. Lando remained stone-faced, and Han shrugged to the crowd and confidently flipped the top card onto the table. The crowd stared in utter surprise. Han smiled and looked down at the card and then at Lando, and then quickly back at the cards again. The queen of air and darkness, giving Han a score of zero, which not only cost him the match, but meant he had to double the value of the pot. Leia tried not to laugh as Han looked back between his cards and Lando and his cards again. As the crowd dispersed Han picked up the deck. "Are there any threes in here," he mumbled, shuffling through the pile while Lando laughed.

"Nice try," Lando said, looking through the pot, "That's quite a sum you owe. Maybe I should just take your ship."

"Sure, no problem," Han said as he continued his quest for a three, "would you like me to throw in my Wookiee too?" A growl from nearby answered him. "Take it easy, Chewie, I'm only kidding." Disgusted, he tossed the deck back on the table. "This isn't over yet."

"Of course not," Lando said, "I don't have my money."

"Not to interrupt this display of respectability and selflessness," Leia said, "but you're both needed at an important meeting." Leia hadn't oversold it; Mon Mothma, Admiral Ackbar, General Madine, and General Riekken were all on hand, and no one else. This must have been something pretty big.

"I'm afraid that things in the Napuli System have gotten out of hand," Mon Mothma said in a rather worried tone. "It seems the aliens called the Borg have invaded our galaxy."

"We're sure about this?" Han asked.

General Madine spoke up. "One of my agents spoke with a Talon Karrde; he encountered the Borg on his way back from a smuggling run to Trelam II. The sensor data he provided confirms that it is the Borg."

"Oh... great," Han said darkly.

"I want you all to appreciate the significance of this," Mon Mothma said. "Not only did they overwhelm Lord Vader's hand-picked fleet of star destroyers and the Executor, they destroyed an Imperial battlestation that guards the wormhole. They are a grave threat."

"According to our sources," General Madine said, "the Empire is massing a fleet of starships to attempt to destroy the Borg in one stroke. They won't be in place for at least a week."

"Have we made our decision?" Lando asked. "Are we joining forces with the Empire to fight the Borg?"

"Not at this time," Mon Mothma answered. "Though if they seem to be overwhelming the Imperial fleet we may be forced into that position. We cannot allow our worlds to be overrun by these invaders."

Admiral Ackbar spoke up at this point. "There is, however, an opportunity here that we could take advantage of. With the battlestation out of the way there are no Imperial forces to stop us from using the wormhole to go to the other galaxy."

"Well, yeah," Han said, "and with good reason. These Borg are probably all over the system."

"Yes, but they're not concerned with guarding the wormhole," Mon Mothma said. "They more than likely are expecting an attack by the Imperial fleet, not an attempt to sneak past them and into the other galaxy. With surprise on our side and a little planning, we should be able to get through the wormhole safely."

"Why would we want to go there?" Han asked. "What's so important on the other side?"

General Madine hesitated, but spoke up. "We don't know. That's why we need people to go there, to find out what the Empire is involved in. There's got to be more to this galaxy than the Federation and the Borg. We could find new allies, or at least those who can tell us more about our new enemies."

General Riekken finally began speaking. "I've been asked to organize the effort to establish a small base in the other galaxy. Work's already begun on that, but what we'll also need in large amounts are courage and," he floundered slightly, "your unique talents."

Lando and Han looked at one another and back at the general. "Look," Han said, "I'm willing to put my neck on the line, but I want to know it's for a good reason."

"You volunteered for the Endor shield mission," Mon Mothma pointed out. "That was a far greater risk than this."

Leia looked with some surprise at Han, but he pretended not to notice. "Yeah, a risk, but a risk that could've ended this war in one fell swoop. I don't mind risking my life for that, but risking it by running past cyborgs and heading for the unknown just for the sake of reconnaissance, that seems a little unnecessary."

"General Solo, if you don't want to go..." Mon Mothma began.

"I'm not saying that," Han insisted, "I'm just saying if we're going to do this, we better do it right and we better be doing it for a good reason. We'll be splitting up our forces, we'll be risking our people, our resources..."

"We've considered this, Solo," Ackbar said, "and we've decided it's worth the effort."

"Fine," Lando said, "so who's all going?"

"You and General Solo will be responsible for information gathering," Riekken said. "Her highness," he nodded, indicating Leia, "will be responsible for diplomacy, should it be necessary. Commander Antilles will be responsible for fighter co-ordination, and Colonel Derlin will be responsible for base security. I'll be in command of the overall mission."

"Fine, when do we leave?" Han asked.

"Five days. That should give us plenty of time to get everything assembled, and still beat the Imperials to the wormhole."

"The Empire's a piece of cake," Lando said. "It's the Borg we've got to worry about."

The Emperor looked with some distaste at Thrawn as he appeared in the hologram. He would have been such a great leader if he weren't so....alien. "What is it, admiral?"

"It seems Piett and his fleet have failed, my lord," Thrawn said. "He failed to follow instructions, and now he and all our Imperial forces in the Milky Way have been either destroyed or assimilated."

The Emperor felt his anger swelling, both at the situation, and Thrawn's indirect implication that the Emperor's decision was responsible. "How could this have happened?" Thrawn began to explain, but the Emperor stopped him. "Nevermind! What have you done to resolve this?"

"For the moment, I've activated our reserve forces," Thrawn said. "But I don't believe it will be enough. Without greater support, we may not succed..." Thrawn looked away for a few seconds. "Apologies, your highness, it seems the Borg have arrived. They're on a direct course for-"

Suddenly Thrawn's image vanished, and in its place stood a large cybernetic being. The Emperor looked at it with disgust at first, then recognized the face beneath the implants. Captain Lennox?! The Emperor knew he was part of Vader's fleet; rather independent thinker but an effective leader. "I speak for the Borg," the hologram said. "We have come to bring you perfection. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own. Your culture will..."

The captain's neck began to twitch and convulse and he stopped speaking. His neck began to visibly contract and finally, the man who once was Captain Lennox fell out of range of the holotransmitter, the sound of cracking trachea indicating death. The Emperor released his grip as the image of Admiral Thrawn returned.

"What are your orders, my lord?"

Hatred burned through the Emperor at the gall of these aliens to invade his domain. "Your orders, admiral," his voice just above a whisper, "are to wipe the Borg from the face of the galaxy!"

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