The Hub
Posted on Tue Aug 4, 2020 @ 7:55am by Fleet Captain Rhea Kennit & Lieutenant Penelope Naroot & Lieutenant JG Camille Lévesque PhD
1,112 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission: The Binary Suns
Six hours later:
Bridge
On the main viewscreen, the only view was of distant stars, there were no star systems near their current position. No nebulae. No dust clouds. Nothing. Nothing except for the transwarp hub which was not yet visible, but which the Victory was rapidly approaching. The Captain was on the bridge, having returned a moment earlier from her ready room where she’d been having a discussion with Cmdr. Torres. The Commander was present as well, though he looked distinctly annoyed.
It didn’t take long to discover what he was annoyed about. “We will enter sensor range of the hub in another 3 minutes. We need to transmit an identification signal or we will be challenged,” the Captain said. She walked to her seat on the Bridge, sat down and then connected her implants to the ships computer, the tubules in her hand sliding out and clicking into an access panel allowing her to access the ships systems.
Her eyes darkened, and her posture changed slightly as she accessed and activated the command system without speaking, sending identification data to the automated and uninhabited hub. An acknowledgment signal was returned, and she said only, “So far, so good. The hub will activate upon our approach.”
“Once we enter the hub, we can send a probe ahead of us. Get a look at what is happening at the exit point, which while still at hours from Earth, will allow us to start picking up comm traffic and whatever data that will provide.”
"If this is like the hub Voyager encountered," Penny said, "we're going to need coordinates to know which one to enter."
“We will not have any problem Lieutenant.” the Captain said. “It will only take a moment for me to communicate our desired destination to the hub and activate the portal which will allow us to access the network.” She sounded almost amused, “After all, I’m family..”
Penny played her boards. "Entering visual range," she said.
“On screen..” Kennit responded.
She brought the image of a distant object onto the screen. "There it is," she said. "Big scary Borg Hub on one side and a friendly, safe constellation on the other...."
“Beep beep, Penny,” said Camille from the Science station. “Capitaine, sensors are beginning to map the conduits coming out of the hub.”
"If we maintain velocity to the last second, we'll arrive in eighteen-point-seven minutes," Penny said, smartening up.
“We’ll have the correct conduit confirmed well before that,” Camille affirmed.
“What is that.. there, on the far side of the hub..” Kennit murmured. She answered her own question before anyone else could speak, “It’s a cube. I don’t sense anything..” Her eyes, dark and intense locked on Lt. Naroot. “Scan it, display the results on the screen.”
Penny's left hand flew over the Ops boards, the readings from the cube scrolling down the viewscreen. "It's a dead hulk," she said. "Minimal power readings. The vessel's barely registering, and no lifeforms on board. Multiple hull ruptures. I'd say they touched too close to the wrong side of the hub..."
The data was revealing. The cube was damaged, automated repair systems had restored power and some functionality but the vessel was dark, no drones aboard. She knew why it was there, structural damage which required more repair than its automated systems or a drone work force could manage without additional support provided by a dock capable of removing and replacing damaged structural components. It was capable of propulsion, weapons systems were operational to some degree though the structural damage made it unlikely the Cube could sustain combat for any sustained length of time.
Kennit smiled, it was a frightening look. “There’s our distraction. We’ll bring it along, send it ahead of us and while the ships in the Sol system are dealing with their crews shitting themselves, we can reach Mars where the President and other hostages are reported to be held.” Her head cocked slightly to one side, and the Captain accessed the comm system in order to contact the Cube’s primary core. “Wakey wakey..” she said in a soft, slightly malicious murmur. For a moment, nothing happens but then, flickers of green light began to sparkle along its damaged hull as the ship began to power up as commanded.
"Power levels are rising, "Penny said. "Still no lifeform readings. We may be in the clear with it."
The Captain didn’t answer. She knew the Cube carried no drones, it was following commands sent to its computer core. Nothing more. She remained quiet, watching as the hub grew closer, focusing on entering a series of commands which she transmitted to the Cube. After several minutes, she said. “Prepare to enter the transwarp conduit when the portal opens. The Cube will follow us and remain with us through the transit.” She was silent a moment as she entered a final command, and then said. “Sending the activation signal on my mark. Now.”
"Understood," Penny said, the coordinates appearing on her readouts. She refined their course and watched the borg cube carefully. The scorch marks over it were extensive, and several breaches were showing now, even a ship-sized hole on the side showing the stars through it. As they approached, the whole cube, holes and all, began to turn, heading into position in front of the aperture.
On the viewscreen, a flare of light coalesced into a shimmering energy portal. It waited for them, the access point into the transwarp conduit which would convey them back to the Alpha Quadrant, and back to the Sol System.
Penny brought them out of the slipstream drive, adjusting their course and aiming them towards it. "Approaching the aperture," she said.
“Set course for the Sol system. I want us to come out between Earth and Mars. The Cube will keep our little friends distracted while we determine where we need to be in order to retrieve the President and other hostages. President Naxta should be easy to find once we know where to look, and Admiral Bennet has a locator implanted in his shoulder; they’ll have the hostages held near one another. They plan to execute the President as well as the other seven hostages all together based on what intell we have.
"Course laid in," Penny said. "Entering the aperture."
The Borg ship loomed ahead of them, disappearing into the transwarp conduit just before they did. The ship gave a lurch and everyone's stomachs (those who had one, at least) gave a little lurch as they were suddenly shunted along through an artificial wormhole between opposite ends of the galaxy.
TBC
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