The Hansen Diaries

[Tiberius]

Feedback thread is here.

A Star Trek story I am writing. Not finished yet, but most of it is, and hopefully posting it here will help to motivate me to finish it.

I'll post the prologue and the first chapter now. The prologue is a scene (two, actually) from one of the Voyager episodes (as is the epilogue), and I hope that once the entire story is up you'll understand why I've included two scenes from the TV show in the story.

One thing I'd really like is constructive criticism. I've posted a part of this at another forum, but it's quite small and I wasn't getting much of a response. Hopefully here where there are more members I can get more responses.

Please note that this work (plot and dialogue etc) is copyrighted to me (except for the bits that are adapted from the episodes). Please don't copy this or download it.

Finally, this is LONG. At the moment (four-fifths finished), it's over 121,000 words. That's longer than a 400 page novel. So be prepared for a long trip.

Anyway, here it is.

THE HANSEN DIARIES

Prologue

The voice of the Collective, the constant murmuring of the other drones, was gone.

She had been snatched out of her perfect existence by a group of interfering Humans who knew no better.

They had thought that their actions would help her. But in fact they had done the opposite. They had removed her from perfection. They had exposed her to a life she never had, a life that she should not be living now.

And now they had changed her. Removed those things that had been her life. They had made her as weak and as helpless as the rest of them.
And they had done it all under the misguided notion that they were helping her.

The door to the brig opened with the sound of working machinery. Her sensitive ears could hear footsteps as someone approached. The doors closed and she slowly turned to face her visitor. As she had expected, it was Captain Janeway.

“So this is Human freedom.” Seven of Nine spoke in an icy tone.
Janeway ignored the coldness of the drone’s voice. “I’ve decided to keep you in the brig until I’m certain you won’t try to harm us again,” she said. “If necessary, the Doctor can treat you in here.” She gave Seven of Nine a disappointed look. “I honestly believed you were going to help us.”

“You were not deceived, Captain Janeway,” Seven of Nine said. “It was my intention to help you.”

“What happened?” Janeway asked simply.

“There was a chance to contact the Collective,” Seven of Nine said. “We took advantage of it.” She moved towards the force field. “Your attempts to assimilate this drone will fail. You can alter our physiology, but you cannot change our nature. We will betray you. We are Borg.”

“I’ve met Borg who were freed from the Collective,” Janeway told her. “It wasn’t easy for them to accept their individuality, but in time, they did. You’re no different.”

Seven of Nine turned away from the force field. This Human standing before her didn’t understand what she was talking about, and Seven of Nine wanted nothing more to do with her.

“Granted,” Janeway continued, “you were assimilated at a very young age, and your transition may be more difficult, but… it will happen.”

Seven of Nine was silent for a moment, thinking. “If it does happen,” she said, almost thoughtfully, “we will become fully Human?”

“Yes, I hope so,” said Janeway.

“We will be autonomous?” asked Seven of Nine. “Independent?”

Janeway almost smiled. “That’s what individuality is all about.”

Seven of Nine turned back to face Janeway, defiantly this time. “If, at that time, we choose to return to the Collective, will you permit it?”

“I don’t think you’ll want to do that,” said Janeway.

Seven of Nine approached Janeway. “You would deny us the choice, as you deny us now?” she said accusingly. “You have imprisoned us in the name of Humanity, yet you will not grant us your most cherished Human right? To choose our own fate? You are hypocritical. Manipulative. We do not want to be what you are. Return us to the Collective!”

“You lost the capacity to make a reasonable choice the moment you were assimilated,” Janeway said assertively. “They took that from you. And until I’m convinced that you’ve gotten it back, I’m making the choice for you. You’re staying here.”

“Then you are no different than the Borg,” hissed Seven of Nine. She turned and walked away from the forcefield.

Janeway, sensing that she wouldn’t get through to the drone now, left. Perhaps in time, the drone would be more cooperative, but for the moment, it would be useless to talk to her.

For Seven of Nine, the hours passed slowly. The only other person in the brig was the guard, a male named Ayala, and unlike the Collective, he was silent. The difference between the Collective and this quiet place was too great for her. The quiet, the stillness, the cool dry air, the lack of drones, it was all wrong, terribly wrong, and the stress building up inside her broke free. She threw herself wildly at the force field, screaming.

Ayala looked up from the console. “Ensign Ayala to the bridge.”

Janeway’s voice came over the communication system. “Go ahead, Ensign.”

“You’d better get down to the brig, ma’am.”

Seven of Nine noticed his hand moving towards his phaser.

It was only a few minutes before Janeway arrived, but by that time, Seven of Nine had given up her attack on the force field and was pacing in the back of the small cell. She did not look up as Janeway entered.

“One,” Seven of Nine said. “My designation is Seven of Nine, but the others are gone. Designations are no longer relevant. I am… one…”

Janeway spoke quietly, barely above a whisper. “Yes, you are.”

“But I cannot function this way!” said Seven of Nine. “Alone…”

“You’re not alone,” said Janeway. “I’m willing to help you.”

Seven of Nine turned to her. “If that’s true, you won’t do this to me,” she said. She was distressed, and could feel fear rising up from within her.

“Take me back to my own kind.”

“You are with your own kind,” said Janeway. “Humans.”

“I don’t remember being Human,” said Seven of Nine. “I don’t know what it is to be Human.” The fear she felt growing inside her began to emerge, and she could feel her body shaking as she tried to hold back tears.

Janeway picked up a padd from the console and approached the force field. She tapped the controls at the side of the entry to the cell.

“What are you doing?” said Seven of Nine.

“I’m coming in,” Janeway said matter-of-factly.

“I’ll kill you.”

Janeway looked up. “I don’t think you will,” she said.

The force field flicked off. Ayala stepped forward, his hand going to his phaser, ready to defend his captain if the drone tried to carry out her threat. Janeway held up a hand to stop him. She stepped into the cell and held the padd out to Seven of Nine. On the padd’s screen was a picture of a little girl, smiling at the holo-imager. Blonde hair framed the bright eyes that highlighted a mischievous young face.

Seven of Nine felt something inside her stirring, grief at a life lost to something dark. A half-lost memory of seeing that same face in the mirror…

“Do you remember her?” asked Janeway. “Her name was Annika Hansen. She was born on Stardate 25479 at the Tendara Colony. There’s still a lot we don’t know about her. Did she have any siblings? Who were her friends? Where did she go to school? What was her favourite colour?”

Seven of Nine lashed out, her hand smacking against the padd, flinging it out of Janeway’s hand. It spun across the cell and clattered against the wall before falling to the floor. “Irrelevant! Take me back to the Borg!”

“I can’t do that,” Janeway said calmly.

Seven of Nine doubled over in a frustration that was approaching a terrible agony. The silence in her head was mercilessly eating away at her from the inside out, like a foul disease that was rotting her organs and turning her insides to thick slimy mucus. “Quiet… One voice…” She staggered away from Janeway towards the corner of the cell, her legs unstable, as if her bones were dissolving.

“One voice can be stronger than a thousand voices.” Janeway said firmly. “Your mind is independent now, with its own unique identity.”

“You are forcing that identity upon me!” Seven of Nine spat at the Captain.
“It’s not mine!”

“Oh, yes it is,” Janeway said, moving towards the drone. “I’m just giving you back what was stolen from you. The existence you were denied. The child who never had a chance. That life is yours now.”

“I don’t want that life!”

“It’s what you are!” Janeway insisted. “Don’t resist it!”

Seven of Nine hurled herself at Janeway. “No!” she screamed, but she was weak and her attack failed. She stumbled and fell, and Janeway reached out and grabbed her, staggering back to the bed. They both collapsed onto the bunk, and in the silence, Janeway could hear the drone sobbing.

[Tiberius]

Encounter


Tentak IV was Class-M, but only barely. It was at the inner edge of the narrow band around the system’s star in which planets could support life, and the entire world was desert. There were no oceans or seas, and the life that had evolved was sparse, small, and tough.

The Ju’Day class transport vessel kicked up a curtain of yellow dust as it sped low over the hot desert of the small planet. It weaved through the canyons and ravines and banked around the tall imposing rock formations that burned dusty yellow in the harsh light of the sun.

Inside the cramped cockpit, three people sat hunched over the control panels, shielding their eyes from the glare reflecting off the hot sand. They looked out over the desolate landscape, searching for the precious crystals that were the reason for their presence.

Dilithium was vital to the heart of the Federation fleet, giving life to the incredible power of the warp core. Without dilithium, starships would be little more than drifting hulks. The mining station used the rich dilithium deposits of the planet to resupply passing ships, mostly freighters, with the valuable crystal. Having exhausted the supply of the crystal near the base, they were now venturing further out into the wilds of the planet.

Captain Belle knew that the dilithium’s value made this planet a target for pirates, though very rarely would small time crooks make the attempt at stealing dilithium from the Federation.

The main cause for concern was the Orion Syndicate. They were in possession of powerful ships and sophisticated technology. To that end, Starfleet had sent a team of tactical officers, trained in what was widely held to be the best tactical training program in the known galaxy. The only argument was from the Klingons, but now that they were gradually becoming friends with the Federation and there was the beginning of Klingon traffic through Federation space, the Empire was beginning to acknowledge the efficiency of the Federation training.

The squad of highly trained security officers went a long way towards making William Belle feel safe. The heavy armament mounted on his station went even further. A dozen type-9 phaser banks mounted around his base and anchored deep into the rock covered every corner of the sky, and their range, because they were designed as stationary weapons and therefore had no need to be light enough for use on starships, was impressive. Most enemies were well into the station’s range before the station was in theirs. This gave the Orion Syndicate reason to stop and think twice before mounting an attack against Belle’s command.

The third thing that made Captain Belle feel safe at night was the squadron of three Ju’Day class ships: the Gauvreau, Brennan, and Paige. Granted, they were small ships, and not heavily armed, but their speed and maneuverability made them a force to be reckoned with. They class vessels could duck and weave around enemy fire, scoring hit after hit while evading the weapons fire from nearly any adversary. The Ju’Day class ships, after a decade of service, were not the newest ships in the Federation fleet, but with a large cargo area and efficient engines, they had become the ideal vessels for small colonies and remote outposts.

“We’re closing now, Captain,” said Parker, the dark-haired science officer in the navigator’s seat. “Within five kilometers.”

The transport banked to the right under the expert hand of Jora Arkin. She lifted the ship gently over a sand dune and set them down on a flat area covered with gravel. Captain William Belle and Lieutenant Sarah Parker rose from their seats and went back to the cargo area. Parker tapped a control panel mounted on the wall, and the floor folded down to form a landing ramp.

Dry, hot air rushed into the ship, and the two Starfleet officers recoiled as if physically struck. Then, braving the heat, they stepped forward and advanced out into the barren terrain.

This was not where he wanted to be stationed, but Captain Belle had accepted the assignment nonetheless. It was a necessary posting, especially out here in one of the more sparsely populated regions of Federation space near the Romulan Neutral Zone. He looked over the seared, desiccated land. He preferred the cool, moist rainforests of his New Zealand home to this place. The gravel crunched lightly underfoot as he stepped out across the parched desert floor.

“It’s just over here,” called his science officer. She had advanced a few meters further ahead, out of the shadow of the transport vessel. Her features were already being lost in the glare.

Belle smiled at the young brunette. It had amused him when he had taken command of the outpost that he would have a science officer. After all, it was merely a mining station, but Starfleet had insisted on a science officer. Standard procedure and all, apparently.

Belle followed the woman to the small rise she was looking over. Below him, stretching out into the distance, the sand shimmered in the sun, and the dark lines of chasms and gullies snaked their way towards the distant horizon.

“Looks like you were right,” he said, sweeping his tricorder across the panorama and scanning the rock strata. “This place is crawling with dilithium, and it’s at the surface too. That’ll make the mining a lot easier. I’ll send a subspace message to Starfleet when we get back to the station.” He turned to the scientist and noted, not for the first time, that she was rather striking to look at. “They should be pleased with this. Good work, lieutenant.”

Parker smiled back at him, then turned and headed back to the transport vessel.

*

Early that evening, the crew gathered in the mess hall to celebrate the day’s discovery. Large transparent aluminium windows looked out over the desert sands that sparkled in the sunset light. The sun that shone low over the land flooded the mess hall with a warm glow.

Parker sat at the table with the majority of the ops officers, and she was looking somewhat apprehensive. She was not the type of person who avoided social situations, but being the guest of honour had made her the center of attention, and that made her distinctly uncomfortable. As it was, she was trying to make the most of the situation. It had proven difficult, with the crew of the Tentak IV base buying her drink after drink and toasting her health and happiness.

“How did you do it, Parker?” Charlie Porter asked, for what was probably the third time in as many minutes. He lifted his glass and took another sip of his synthehol.

He drinks far too much of that stuff, thought Parker, but she didn’t say anything about it. He may have liked the drink, but it never affected his work performance.

“It was quite easy,” she said. “I used the studies of the planet taken by the initial survey team and compared the rock strata here with those found at the sites of other dilithium deposits. Then, I determined the location of the most likely sites here based on that information, and came up with the optimal sites based on accessibility to the location and crystal depth.”

Porter nodded, although Parker was under the distinct impression that he had imbibed a little too much to fully comprehend what she had said.

“Still,” said Jora Arkin, “this new deposit is five hundred kilometers away. It’s a long way to go.”

“The ships can handle it, Jora,” Kate Davies said to the Bolian. “Starfleet builds them tough enough.”

Jora glanced at Davies, but the irritation that the look conveyed was mostly superficial. Jora was known around the base to have a somewhat heavy hand when it came to flying, and it was a common joke that unless a ship was tough, it wouldn’t survive more than a few flights with Jora Arkin at the helm.

“Captain Belle has already spoken with Starfleet,” Parker said. “They’re sending equipment, but they can’t spare any personnel due to the conflict with the Tholians.”

“Things can’t be that serious, can they?” asked Arkin. “They can’t spare anyone?”

“The Tholians attacked Starbase 311 last week,” said Parker, and those at the table fell quiet. Starbase 311 was one of the most heavily trafficked bases in its sector, and a common destination for newly graduated ensigns waiting for their first assignment.

“Did any one survive?” asked Davies.

“So far, the only survivor found is a civilian advisor,” said Parker. “Kyle Riker.”

“What’s Starfleet doing about it?” asked Davies.

“They’ve sent the Stargazer to patrol the Tholian border,” said Parker. “From what I’ve heard of the Stargazer’s captain, the Tholians won’t be so quick to strike again.”

At that moment, the comline opened. “Red alert, all hands to battle stations!”

And the sirens began.

*

“Fire phasers!”

The order came crisp and clear over the cry of the red alert klaxon. The station rocked as another barrage of Orion phaser fire punched against the shields. Captain William Belle trusted his station, and he knew the shields would hold for quiet a while longer, but the Orions were tenacious. They would fight until they either succeeded or were destroyed.

At Belle’s word, a powerful blast of phased energy leapt from the heavy phaser batteries mounted around the station. The beam of energy lanced quickly up into orbit, buckling the shields of one of the attacking ships. The blast sliced through the unprotected hull of the ship, and the vessel went dark as the engine core was destroyed. It began sinking toward the planet, unable to pull out of the gravity well. The other three quickly took evasive maneuvers to avoid the same fate.

One of the remaining battleships changed its tactic, going after the one of the small fighters that were buzzing around it. It fired a rapid burst from its forward disrupter banks, and the tiny fighter swung wildly away to avoid the fire.

“Arkin to base!” shouted the Bolian woman at the conn of the Gauvreau. “I’ve got a warship on my tail, and I’m under heavy attack!”

The Ju’Day class ship, while highly maneuvrable, was still vulnerable to the Orion warships, which had some of the most sophisticated targeting systems in the known galaxy. While the small Federation ship could duck and weave, the Orions would be able to maintain a weapons lock. Arkin knew that she would need to fly her best. She swung the Gauvreau into a hard starboard turn, and a blast of crackling blue energy screamed past her port wing. The small ship shuddered at the near miss, but she hadn’t lost the Orions yet.

Covering fire came up from the base on the planet below, buckling the Orion’s aft shields. The Orions moved to hide the damaged area, and Jora Arkin made her move.

She banked the Gauvreau gently to starboard, and then slewed sharply off to the left. The Orions, thrown by this maneuver, followed the Gauvreau’s abortive course to the right, and the Ju’Day class ship wheeled around, coming in under the rear of the Orion vessel, the warship’s one blind spot. Davies, seated next to her, fired a burst from the phasers and launched a torpedo. The phaser blast obliterated the remains of the Orion’s shields, and the torpedo smashed into the hull and detonated.

“Well done, Kate,” said Arkin as they watched the warship’s broken hull crumple.

The Gauvreau turned to concentrate its fire on one of the remaining warships, but the Orions let loose a barrage of disrupter fire, catching them before they could take evasive maneuvers. In the cockpit, the stations exploded into sparks.

“We’ve been hit!” called out Davies, shielding her face from the brightness. The panels spluttered then faded into darkness.

Jora opened the comline. “Tentak, this is Gauvreau. We have lost main power. We are headed back to base and we need covering fire. We have an Orion warship on our tail. Please respond.”

“Gauvreau, this is Tentak,” came Belle’s voice through the static. “Your message has been received. Approach the pad, you have been cleared for landing.”

“The impulse reactors are offline,” reported Davies, struggling to reroute the secondaries. “Weapons are gone, and the engine core is fried. Thrusters are all I can give you, Jora.”

Jora muttered a Bolian curse under her breath. “Okay, I’m taking us down.”
The Gauvreau turned and spiralled towards the planet, the desperate evasive maneuvers denying the Orions any further chances to attack the tiny ship.

“Estimating landing in three point nine minutes,” reported Arkin. The phaser fire from the station below them sliced passed the ship, connecting solidly with the warship on their tail. The Orion ship let loose a wild fury of disrupter fire, and a single shot hit the rear of the Gauvreau. The ship screamed with the impact.

“Aft thrusters hit!” called Davies, struggling to keep the engines from burning out. “Systems fluctuating. I’m not sure I can stabilize them!”

At that moment, the flickering engineering station went dark.

“Kate! Get those aft thrusters back online!” cried Arkin. “I can’t land the ship without them.”

*

“We just lost communications with the Gauvreau,” reported Porter, looking up from the ops station. “I have them on sensors, and they will be landing in approximately three minutes.”

“Prepare the hanger,” ordered Belle. “Emergency medical teams, stand by. Continue covering fire for the Brennan and the Paige.”

*

The Gauvreau hurtled down through the atmosphere of Tentak IV, the forward thrusters struggling to keep the ship in the air. Through the viewports, Jora could see the orange glow of atmospheric friction as the ship burned a path down towards the planet.

“Davies, I need those shields online or we’re toast!” cried Jora.

“I’m trying!” came Davies’ reply. “The primary systems are destroyed. Switching to secondaries.”

An alarm began to scream, calling attention to itself through the sounds of the battered ship.

“Kate, hurry! The hull is beginning to fracture!”

“I know!”

“I need those shields!”

“I know!”

And then the panel exploded and Davies flew back, and then she hit the wall and lost consciousness.

*

When Kate Davies awoke, she was laying on a biobed in the base’s infirmary. She tried to lift herself up onto her elbows to look around, but a sharp pain that lanced through her skull convinced her otherwise, and she immediately lowered herself back down to the bed. She moaned and raised a hand to her forehead, but that only made the pain worse.

“You’re awake,” said the doctor, a human woman by the name of Diane Deviay, and she called the captain.

“What happened?” Kate asked.

“You’ve been asleep for nearly a day, so take it easy.”

“What about the Orions?”

“Well, I’m not sure of the exact details, so I’ll leave that to the Captain,” Deviay said. “But I think it’s safe to say that if it weren’t for Jora and Porter, you wouldn’t be here now.”

At that moment, the captain entered the room. He walked over to Davies and placed a hand on her shoulder. “You did good out there,” he said.

“Thank you, Captain,” Davies said. “How is Jora?”

“Lieutenant Arkin wasn’t severely hurt in the crash,” said Deviay. “I sent her to her quarters to rest.”

The door hissed open, and the Bolian woman ran through. “Kate!” she exclaimed, and she ran up to the biobed. “I’m so glad you’re awake.” She gave her friend a hug, squeezing her tightly.

“How did you get the ship down in one piece?” Davies asked, laying back on the bed. She gently rested her head against the pillow.

“It was Porter,” Arkin told her. “He managed to lock a tractor beam onto us to slow our descent.”

“I’ll have to thank him,” said Davies with a smile. “What about the Gauvreau?”

“Porter’s got an engineering team repairing it now,” said Belle. “He says it will be ready to fly in another day or two.”

“Just like you, Kate,” said Deviay. “Another day or two. I’ll release you from the infirmary, but I want you to take it easy for the next twenty four hours.”

“Got it, Doc,” Kate smiled.

Captain Belle left the infirmary, and Davies gently swung her legs off the bed. She groaned as she lowered her feet to the floor, and Jora put a supportive arm around her shoulders.

“Thanks, Jora,” Davies said, and the Bolian woman helped her walk out.

*

According to the engineer’s report, the repairs to the station were going well. A week after the Orion attack, life was getting back to normal. Kate Davies was back on her feet, the Gauvreau was fully spaceworthy again, and people were beginning to relax. If the Orions had wanted to attack the base again, they would have returned by this time. They normally waited only a few days before returning, coming back before their target had been able to repair the damage from the initial attack. Belle had smiled to himself numerous times in the last few days. Obviously they had made such an impression on the Orions that they were unwilling to return. They had destroyed three ships, and the fourth vessel had run off damaged, with its proverbial tale between its legs. So much for the stories of fighting to the death.

But still, he was annoyed. He disliked having his station at less than optimum efficiency. According to Porter, the power generators had been damaged by the strain imposed on them during the attack, and now they overheated when they were brought to more than eighty percent of maximum.

The cooling systems had also been damaged. They refused to operate whenever the power core temperature rose to over five thousand Kelvins, and as a result, the power core was being operated at only fifty percent of maximum. Sixty percent was available in an emergency, but it could be sustained for less than fifteen minutes.

So, the base was being run at reduced power mode. Non-essential systems were offline (including replicators), and everyone had been eating field rations for the last week.

“Captain,” Charlie Porter called from across ops.

Captain Belle looked up from the engineering report. He rubbed his sore eyes. “What is it, Lieutenant?” he asked. He sounded rather annoyed, but in the two and a half years since he had taken command of the mining station on Tentak IV, Porter had learned that the captain was usually in such a frame of mind.

Probably, thought Charlie, he’s glad for the interruption. Those padds can hurt your eyes after a while.

“Sensors are detecting an… unusual energy signature on the far side of the system,” Porter reported. “There was a tachyon burst, and now I’m picking up tri-quantum waves.”

“What could be causing it?” Belle asked, as he put the padd on the table beside him.

Porter looked up. “I don’t know,” he said simply. “I’m reading an object at that position now. It might be a ship.”

“Could it be the Orions again?”

“I don’t know, sir,” said Porter. “There’s too much interference to get a positive identification.”

“Localize the readings and send them to the hanger,” ordered Belle. “We’ll send the Gauvreau out to have a look. Have they responded to hails?”

“Not yet,” said Porter. “But I am reading immense power signatures. It’s possible that they have armed their weapons.”

Belle looked thoughtful for a moment. “All hands to battle stations,” he said. “Incoming Threat vessels.”

*

“Ready!” called Arkin as she settled into the pilot’s seat of the Gauvreau.
At the tactical station in the small ship, Kate Davies turned to her. “Weapons systems check out, and engines are set for atmospheric lift-off,” she stated. “We are go for launch.”

Jora Arkin increased power to the twin engines and the ship rose above the rough landing pad scrawled onto the gravel that formed the ground. Banking sharply, the ship climbed into the sky.

“Sensor readings are getting clearer now,” said Davies as the ship left Tentak IV far behind. “I’m reading an object at bearing three five one by two seven three, distance, three million kilometers.”

“What is it?” asked Arkin. “The Orions again?”

“I don’t think so,” said Davies. “Readings are still jumbled, but whatever it is, it’s huge!”

“I’m taking us closer,” said Arkin.

Davies looked out of the window. She saw sunlight reflect off a shape in the distance. It was obviously artificial judging from the harsh straight lines of the object. “I can see it,” she said.

“I’m scanning it,” Arkin said. She tapped the controls and sent a sensor beam towards the alien vessel. “Definitely not the Orions.”

Kate Davies looked out the window at it as they approached. “I’ve never seen that configuration before,” she said as the Gauvreau grew closer to the massive vessel. She turned to Arkin. “Who’d make a spaceship shaped like a cube?”

*

“Captain, we just lost contact with the Gauvreau,” Porter reported.

Belle looked up at him. “What happened?” he asked. “Were they destroyed?” He stood from his chair and approached the ops station.

“Unknown, sir,” said Porter. “They approached the vessel, their signals appeared to merge, and now I can’t find them.”

“Is it possible that they are inside the vessel?” asked Belle.

Porter looked at him for a moment. “Possible, sir,” he said. “Or they could have been destroyed.”

“Status on the vessel,” Belle ordered.

“They have altered their course, now headed for us,” said Porter.

“I’m reading increased power generation from the threat vessel,” said Parker at the science station. “They may be charging their weapons systems.”

“Raise shields,” said Belle. “Charge our weapons. I thought you said they’d already charged their weapons.”

“The power readings are so high, I thought they had,” said Porter.

“Vessel entering visual range,” Parker reported.

“On screen,” ordered Belle, and he turned to the viewscreen.

On the viewer before him was a massive vessel; harsh cubical lines outlining a dark intelligence.

“My God,” gasped Charlie Porter. He looked down at the readouts on his console. “Each side of it is over three kilometers!”

Parker looked up at him. “It must take incredible power to move a ship of that mass,” she said.

“Keep focused,” Belle said. “How long before they’re in weapons range?”
“Assuming their weapons have a range similar to ours, less than two minutes at the speed they are travelling at,” said Porter.

“Hail them.”

Porter tapped his panel and sent an enquiry to the Cube. “No response,” he said.

The first impact came suddenly, knocking them to the floor. The shields buckled completely under the strength of the attack, and the power generators screamed in protest at the strain being placed on them. The consoles that circled Ops exploded in brilliant white sparks, creating harsh shadows that were crisp and sharp on the walls.

“Report!” shouted Belle.

“Shields are offline,” Porter said, struggling to be heard over the sound of explosions in the distance. “I’m trying to get them back on line, but I don’t think they’ll make any difference.”

“Divert all power to weapons and return fire!” shouted Belle.

Porter brought the heavy phaser banks to bear on the enemy vessel and opened fire, sending a beam of powerful energy leaping upward towards the Cube. The phaser beam crashed against the side of the Cube, but the vessel ignored it, sending another missile down towards the planet surface.
“No effect!” said Porter as Ops exploded into sparks around him. “Power generators are failing, weapons are offline.”

“Send a distress signal,” Belle ordered.

“Communications antennas have been destroyed,” Porter said.

Belle let himself fall back into his command chair. “All hands to emergency evacuation stations,” he said, and looked up at Porter. “Lieutenant,” he said, “prepare the message beacon and set it to repeat a distress call.”

“Aye sir,” he said.

“This is Captain William Belle of the Federation mining base on Tentak IV,” he said, his voice hollow. “We are under attack and our systems are failing. We require assistance. To any vessel intercepting this transmission, please help us.” He turned to Porter. “Launch it,” he said.

The beacon exploded out of its launch tube and quickly arced its way into orbit. It raced past the Cube and headed out for empty space.