The Fate Series 06 An Unexpected Reunion

by Alys Landale

  He handed it to the little girl. “Xara I’m going to need you to do something.”

  She nodded.

  “This Padd is going to help us get rid of all the drones on this ship, but I need you to keep it. Takma will probably take me to her ship once she knows I’m here. I need you to wait until then to use this, okay.”

  She nodded again. “What is it?’

  He handed her the Padd. “This is a virus that will disable all the drones within this station. All you have to do is wait until I’ve left and then find a terminal to upload it on. Play it over the Comm System and it should work.”

  She nodded again. He took her hand and led her over to a wall panel. Pulling the panel away, he lifted her into one of the vents. “Be careful.” he told her.

  She wrapped her hands around his neck. “You too.”

  He replaced the panel onto the wall. Hopefully, she would be overlooked until it was time to make her move.

  He silently wished her luck again and then made his way to the deck below. There were no longer any drones on this deck, so he would have to look for them elsewhere.

  Admiral Paris met with Picard just as the sirens began to sound.

  “What’s going on?” he muttered to himself.

  Just at that time, three drones rounded the corner to intercept the group. Worf was the first to try and resist them, but it didn’t take long before the three were apprehended.

  Picard looked at the drones in amazement. He couldn’t hear their thoughts. Since his assimilation, he had been linked to the Collective. But now, it was as if nothing like that had ever happened.

  Another thing that seemed extremely strange was that none of the drones were trying to assimilate them. The drones merely led them off towards another deck.

  *What the Hell is going on?* he wondered.

  As the group rounded another corner, they caught sight of someone else.

  Tom had known that the drones would be leading their prisoners in this direction. Takma wasn’t going to transport all of

  DS9’s inhabitants to her ship, so she had set up prisoner holding pens on various decks. He was amazed that she had been able to do so in such short time, but he pushed those thoughts away. By now she had probably already taken over more than of half of the station.

  “Halt prisoner,” one of the drones said in Tom’s direction.

  Paris stood still and allowed them to take him with imaginably little resistance.

  As the three were being escorted to their new holding cell, Worf said in a low tone. “When did the Borg return to the Alpha Quadrant? We should have been able to register them on sensors much earlier.”

  “These aren’t the Borg.” Tom told them.

  Everyone seemed to take Paris as a fool. “If these aren’t the Borg,” replied the Klingon. “Who are they?” He said his words in a mocking manner. These were the Borg. One only had to look at them to realize that to be true.

  Tom smiled. “These are a close facsimile, but these aren’t the Borg.”

  The three others looked at him speculatively. They were silent the rest of the way.

  Takma tapped her fingers on the console before her. “How are we doing General?” She asked.

  Kail looked at the information before him. “It seems we have taken over ninety percent of the station. The rest should be ours within a matter of minutes.”

  She smiled. “Very good. Upload the files from the station to this console. I’d like to see what kind of technology we could borrow from them.”

  He entered a series of commands and frowned. “We’ve been locked out of their database,” he said.

  She looked over his shoulder. “Well have someone hack through it. I want to have those files now.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t. This encryption is far too advanced.”

  She fumed for a moment but then took control of her emotions. “Well then,” she said. “It looks as if we’ll just have to get them to decode it. I think I’ll have to pay this station a visit. I can ‘convince’ them to give me the decryption codes.”

  He nodded. After looking over the information, he had gathered, he replied. “We were able to identify a few of the personnel before we were locked out of the computer’s files. It seems that there is an Admiral being led to one of the cells where the station’s commanding officer is being held as well. They might be able to tell us how to decrypt the system.”

  She smiled. “I’ll transport over to the location of that cell immediately. Have the drones set up the necessary equipment for an interrogation. And have Doctor Rosin meet me over there as well. He is useful in such matters.”

  B’Elanna paced around the cell she had been put in. So far, she, Janeway, Sisko, Chakotay, Kim, Seven, Neelix, and Tuvok were in there with her. Data had been apprehended and placed in there as well.

  Now the half-Klingon was restless. What was going on? The Borg didn’t act like this.

  Seven seemed to be thinking the same thing as well. “I am unable to hear these drones,” she said.

  Janeway walked over to her. “What do you mean?”

  “I am usually able to hear the collective’s thoughts. I am unable to do so.”

  Torres didn’t even bother to listen. She looked out of their cell. It was nothing more than two force fields positioned in a corner of one of DS9’s empty cargo bays. But the cell was effective none the less. She watched as a pair of drones began to set up what looked like a chair in the center of the room in front of their cell. She wondered what they were doing.

  After a few more minutes, her attention was diverted to an oncoming group of prisoners. She didn’t care who else was with them, all that she saw was Tom at the front of the group.

  The four prisoners were pushed inside their cell and the forcefield was erected again once they were inside. Tom led B’Elanna back into a corner of the cell. Janeway approached the couple.

  “Do you have any idea of what’s going on?” the captain asked Paris.

  “These aren’t the Borg,” he said simply. “It seems ‘someone’ wishes to take over this station.”

  “But who would be able to create these drones if they aren’t the Borg?” Chakotay asked.

  Their conversation came to a halt as a familiar voice came from outside their cell. “I wonder who would be so good as to volunteer to tell me the decryption codes for this station.”

  Takma stood at the front of the cell. She had transported over minutes ago and now was ready to get the information she needed. She realized that they wouldn’t voluntarily give her the codes, but if they did, where would the fun be in that.

  Paris stood just outside Takma’s range of vision. Picard and Data prevented her from seeing him, so he kept his position for the time being.

  The rest of his group had no idea as to what Takma was referring to. Picard turned to Data. “Were you able to encode the ship’s systems?” he asked in a low voice.

  The android shook his head. “I was unable to do so.”

  Takma looked at the group inside the cell. The first person she spotted was Janeway. Her eyes brightened. “Why Captain, it’s so good to see you again.”

  Those who were not from Voyager, turned to Janeway. None of them had any idea of what was going on.

  Paris then decided to step forward. Takma still did not notice him until he spoke to her. “I see you were finally able to make your dream come true. You have a collective of drones who will cater to your every whim.”

  Takma’s eyes widened as she watched Paris step towards the front of the cell. He leaned up against the wall as she eyed him closely. This was a very good detour indeed.

  “Why Captain, I had thought you were dead. But then again, I thought the same thing of Voyager as well.” she said.

  The smile on her face grew. “We have a great deal of catching up to do.”

  The Admiral was getting tired of these games. He had no idea who this woman was or why she was referring to Tom as ‘captain.’ “Who is this?” he asked
.

  Tom responded to the older man’s question. His gaze never left the Parvanian as he said. “Gentlemen I would like you to meet Takma, the Pretor of the Empire I take it.”

  B’Elanna walked over to Tom’s side. She was about to take his hand when she heard his thoughts reflected in her mind.

  *Whatever you do, don’t let her know about the two of us. If she finds out that we’re seeing one another, she’ll kill you.* he told her.

  She stepped back as she heard his words and stood silently behind him. She wanted to be there for Tom, but she realized if she did so Takma would only use her against him.

  Sisko spoke next. “What the Hell do you want here?”

  Takma’s eyes still rested on Tom. “Oh I want this station and possibly the Alpha Quadrant after that, but right now I’ll just settle for your captain.”

  The Admiral looked to Janeway. He had recognized Takma’s name as the one Tom had said he was going back to the Delta Quadrant for. He was now even more confused than he had been before. “What do you want with Janeway,” he asked.

  For the first time, Takma’s eyes left Tom. She turned a disgusted look at the Admiral. “I wasn’t referring to Janeway,” she said. “Although I will say that she did help me out a great deal. If it wasn’t for her I never would have been able to create this new warp drive or my Collective.” She turned to Seven. “Oh and Seven, those nanoprobes of yours work wonders on a few insubordinates.” Both Janeway and Seven were silent as Takma’s gaze turned back to Tom. “But I was talking about Captain Landis here. I take it you are the one who encrypted the system?”

  Tom gave her a smug smile. “Well, I had five minutes to waste before you caught me. Really, Takma, you’re getting sloppy.”

  The Admiral was even more confused by these turns of event. “What is going on? This is Tom Paris. He’s an ensign not a captain.”

  Takma’s eyebrows rose. “I see you discovered part of your past, Rune. But they only presented you with a commission as an Ensign? Really, I expected more from the great Resistance captain, Rune Landis.” A smile then touched her lips. “I never did thank you. After all, you did kill my husband. If you hadn’t done so, I wouldn’t be Pretor now, would I.”

  All eyes focused on Tom. His face was covered with a shadow as he stared at Takma.

  “What are you thinking?” the woman asked.

  He smiled bitterly. “Not much, just how I’m going to kill you. I suppose I should thank you as well. You saved me a trip back to the Delta Quadrant. I can just dispose of you here.”

  The Pretor took an involuntary step back. She knew he was capable of doing such things. “If you do so,” she said in a low voice. “I shall have all those within your cell killed before you are able to stop me.”

  His eyes narrowed. “I know how to bide my time.”

  She smiled. Turning behind her, she ordered two drones to step forward. At that moment, Doctor Rosin entered with a case full of equipment. He set it down on a nearby table and prepared to get to work. Takma walked over to him. “It seems we have an old friend here. Go fetch a neural transceiver. It might come in useful.”

  He looked past her at Paris standing in his cell. An involuntary shudder ran down his back as he looked at the man’s face. He quickly left in search of the item Takma had requested.

  Picard walked over to Tom. “What is she talking about?” he asked him.

  For the first time, Paris’s eyes left the Parvanian woman. “For about a year I served as a Captain in the Resistance. We got to know each other very well during that time.”

  Takma then walked over and interrupted their conversation. “I believe we’ve had our first volunteer,” she said. “Well, Rune, now I think it’s time that I repay you for all that you have done for me during your stay in the Empire.”

  The force field was brought down and two of the drones came forward to take Paris out. B’Elanna instinctively went forward to stop them.

  Tom grabbed the woman before she could do anything. “Now isn’t the time.” he whispered.

  Reluctantly, she backed away. One of the drones took Paris by his shoulder and pulled him out of the cell. The other did the same.

  The force field was raised again as Tom stepped out of the cell. Takma walked up to the man. Her drones held his arms securely fastened behind him, so there was no threat of him attempting to do her any harm as he had threatened. She smiled seductively at him. “What dour situations you find yourself in ‘Captain.’”

  He remained impassive as he watched her go over to the table where the doctor had deposited his equipment. She opened a container and removed a hypospray. Taking a small Padd as well, she walked over to Paris.

  “I really do have to thank Janeway for all that she has given me. These hyposprays are quite effective. With a few slight modifications, they can be used for so much.” She brought the spray up to Tom’s neck and administered it.

  Paris stood just as impassive as ever as she did this. She then stepped back and looked the man over. “There is so much I could ask you. I don’t know where to begin.” She smiled. “I could ask you about this station, but it hardly matters. I’m much more interested in the Resistance data you possess. I can always get whatever information regarding the Alpha Quadrant from the rest of them. I suggest you tell them to cooperate. You know, first-hand, how badly a situation can turn if they don’t.”

  He nodded and then addressed the group behind him. “You have heard the Pretor.” he said slowly. “I suggest you disregard everything this sadistic bitch says. Don’t tell her anything.”

  Takma’s eyes narrowed as she listened to the man. She knew he would respond in such a way, but it didn’t cease to piss her off. She brought the Padd up and entered a few simple commands.

  At that moment, Paris dropped to one knee. If it hadn’t been for the drones that were holding him up, he would have been lying on the floor. His eyes were squinted shut in pain but he said nothing.

  Those in the cell all came to life as they saw this occur. None had any idea what had happened. B’Elanna felt a small growl emanate from her throat as she saw her mate bent over on the ground.

  Takma looked down at Paris. Tom’s eyes were fixed on the floor below him and his body was curled instinctively up to his chest. Her smile broadened. “I could come to like this look from you, Rune. I suppose I forgot to mention that the hypospray I just gave you was filled with twelve intravenous bombs. Two have already been detonated.” She looked at the Padd once again. “It looks like one went off in your left leg and the other detonated in your lower right side. It looks like you lost a few organs with that one.”

  Tom gritted his teeth. For the first time he thanked the spirit for his Borg components. They might be the only thing to get him through this alive.

  He turned his eyes up to Takma. Malice was evident in them. He gritted his teeth as he slowly came to a standing position. Slowly he found his voice again. “Do you actually think twelve will be enough?”

  Takma was caught off guard by his words. They were spoken with pure venom. “Put him in the chair,” she told the drones.

  Paris was pushed over into the chair that had been put up in the middle of the room. His hands were bound behind him and he tried to sit up straight. Whatever he did, he vowed not to let Takma see him weak.

  Takma walked over to where Paris sat. She studied him for a moment. “I realize that you probably won’t talk. We’ve been through this before. But now I have sufficient technology. I could just assimilate the knowledge you possess.” She bluffed. With any luck he might buy it.

  He looked at her. “You aren’t able to assimilate any past memories,” he told her. “I’ve already seen your drones. You won’t be able to assimilate me.”

  She leaned up against the table. Doctor Rosin came in as she did this. She said nothing however, and continued to talk with

  Paris. The doctor held a small box, which he placed on the table beside Takma. She fingered the box as she spoke.

  �
��So that option is out,” she said. “How about I just kill you instead. You’ve already been assimilated once. I could just retrieve any of your past knowledge that way.”

  The Admiral’s eyes widened as he heard Takma say these words. She noticed his shock as well as that of Picard and Sisko’s. She walked over to them. “Oh, so Rune here never did tell you about his life in the Empire.” She shook her head. “He just doesn’t have any manners does he? Well, why don’t I inform you about the past year of his life.” She walked back over to

  Paris. “You see over a year ago, I found him on some space station. I managed to transport him to my ship before the station exploded, but at that time, he had already been assimilated. He stayed with me for a while. You remember that, don’t you Rune?”

  His gaze was focused on the wall behind her. “How could I forget?”

  She laughed slightly. “Well, I didn’t know whether or not you would. After all, Doctor Rosin here did erase all your prior memories before that time.” She then shifted her conversation back to her story. “Well, you see, Rune wasn’t at all grateful for what we had done for him. A Resistance spy helped him escape and he later joined the Resistance. They are a group of different species who try and oppose the Empire in case you don’t know what I’m referring to. Well, he acquired the name Rune Landis somewhere along the line of that time and became a Captain. He caused a great deal of chaos for my part, but as I said, I am grateful that he killed the old Pretor. I believe you did that the same time Aria died, didn’t you.”

  She watched for Paris’s reaction. She had told this story in order to bring down some of Paris’s defenses. She needed him in a distracted state of mind if she hoped her plan to work.

  He remained staring at the wall. “Yes.” he told her.

  She smiled. “Well, now that I’ve told your comrades that little story, I believe it’s time we get down to business.” She opened the box she had been fingering. Inside it was what looked like a metallic ocular implant. Rosin came to her side as she approached Paris. Taking the device, they fit it on Paris. Once they were done, a Borg like Ocular piece covered his left eye and a strip of metal ran around the back of his head to keep it in place.