Hello everyone! I'm Admiral Rayne of the Special Task Group. I would like to personally say on behalf of my fleet that we would love to extend our hand to you for an alliance. We are primarily a military service fleet, sent where we are needed. However we also hold a strong emphasis on testing new equipment, and diplomatic endeavors.

Some find us unorthodox, we simply call ourselves "special".

Please let me know if your fleet has a special protocol to follow, and if so, what steps we need to take to make this official.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you for the encouragement and compliments! I'm really glad you guys enjoyed reading it.

that was truly an excellent read! can't wait to see what happens in season 2!

Yes i really could have used closure on that story.

Most excellent. :cheer:

I never really got into Babylon 5, but I did love Crusade. Wish there'd been more episodes of that.

((And that's a wrap for the first season of Star Trek: Pandora! I hope you all enjoyed reading these episodes as much as I enjoyed writing them. Stay tuned for the second season, which will have some interesting surprises in store for Oren-De and his crew.))

First Officer's Personal Log, Stardate 87793.7. It's been nearly 24 hours since the successful rescue of the Pandora and Cosmos crews from the Gnostics and the Borg they worship. Honestly, I can't believe I just said that sentence. This entire experience has shown me a side of not just Humans, but of all sentient species that I was previously blind to. While most within the Federation and Starfleet have remained optimistic that peace will return to the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, there are some who have become so weary of it that they would not just surrender, but in fact aid, one of our most dangerous enemies. However, I find it difficult to hate them. In fact, I pity them, as they have lost the hope for a better tomorrow that has sustained this crew, and all the Federation, through so much.

War’en stood in his room and looked out a large window at the world of Zarath III. It was hard to believe that such a banal-looking planet had been nexus for so many lives and events. His hand tapped nervously against his leg as he awaited a call from Starfleet. He took an expectant breath when the comm chimed.

“Bridge to Lieutenant Commander Sadda. We’re receiving a hail from Admiral Quinn at Starfleet on a secure channel.”

“Patch it through to my room. Sadda out.”

War’en practically leaped over to his terminal and activated it, through he tried his best to remain calm when Admiral Quinn’s face appeared.

“Greetings, Lieutenant Commander. I received your report regarding the events on Zarath III. While it is of course disappointing that many Gnostics, along with this ‘Albina’ and her drones, were able to escape on the USS Iowa, I am very impressed with how you and your crew handled the situation. You should know that we have linked the Gnostics to other attacks against Starfleet and the Federation in recent weeks, and we are in the process of declassifying the nature of their existence. They have proven themselves to be enough of a widespread threat that it is imperative all of Starfleet, and the Federation, know of them.”

War’en nodded with a satisfied grin. “That’s good to know, sir. I will pass that information along to Captain Oren-De and the rest of the senior staff.”

At this, Admiral Quinn nodded gravely. “Which brings us to the matter at hand. What is the current status of the Pandora, as well as the Cosmos crew?”

War’en paused for a moment as he summarized the information in his mind. “We determined that about half the Cosmos crew that wasn’t killed on impact was assimilated by Albina into her miniature collective. As it says in my report, thirteen of those were liberated and we are now in the process of providing surgical care, though it is slow-going given our limited medical staff. Additionally, Oren-De’s surgery has run into complications arising from his Enhasan physiology.” War’en stopped for a moment, then continued. “All major repairs to the Pandora have been completed.”

Quinn nodded again. “And the Klingons?”

“They are still going through the wreckage of their ship on the surface of the planet.”

“Keep an eye on them. The Kirk is expected to arrive at your location at any moment now. Once they do, you are ordered to depart for Earth directly via transwarp to transfer the Cosmos crew and other recovered drones for additional care at Starfleet Medical. Speaking of which…”

War’en braced himself. He knew what was coming.

“… how exactly were those drones liberated? I noticed your report was scant on those details.”

“We’re still working on that, sir. To be frank, we’re not entirely sure how it happened.” Because no one has told me and I haven’t asked yet, he finished in his own mind.

Quinn studied War’en for a moment with a careful look. “Then please continue investigating. I expect a report by the time Pandora returns to Earth.”

“Yes, sir,” War’en replied simply.

“Then, that is all. Quinn out.”

War’en breathed a sigh of relief after Quinn’s image blinked out. While he didn’t know for sure how Oren-De and the other assimilated officers had been liberated from Albina’s control, one of the security officers had let it slip that Talona had ‘done something to him’ with her tricorder. Unfortunately, Shrel’s death stare came seconds too late in shutting the junior officer up.

They will court-martial her for sure if she hacked that Borg cure of Lieutenant Calvin’s out of the ship… the fools.

War’en was still scowling about the restrictive Starfleet regulations when another call came for him over the comm.

“Dr. Redwing to Lieutenant Commander Sadda. Can you come down to the Medical Bay? We’ve completed the captain’s surgery.”

War’en looked up. “How is he?”

“War… we should talk here.”

“Acknowledged,” War’en replied as he felt a pit form in his stomach. He took a breath, got up from his chair, and left his room.

Several minutes later, War’en entered the packed Medical Bay. A number of liberated Starfleet drones were on beds, unconscious and receiving automated stabilizing medical treatment. He saw Talona standing over the bed of one such drone. When she saw War’en enter, she gave the drone a kiss on his forehead and walked over to him. The two didn't exchange words, but instead looked over at the other end of the Medical Bay, where Maggie, Red, and Hikaro were standing over a surgery-equipped medical bed. Red and Hikaro saw War’en and Talona approach and left the bed, intercepting them half-way.

War’en couldn’t remember if he had ever seen Red so exhausted. He knew that Red had only slept about two hours during the entire procedure, which he and Hikaro had begun as soon as Red came back with Oren-De. However, he also noticed that Red didn’t look like he had lost a patient.

“The good news is that he’s alive and there is no neurological trauma. He’s awake and, save for fatigue, doing well. However, as you know, there were complications that arose. This is the first time anyone has had to do this procedure on an Enhasan.”

Red suddenly was hit by a yawning fit. Hikaro smirked and continued for him. “Specifically, his vanadium-based blood caused a number of problems. It was touch-and-go, but we got all the implants out and all of his organs functioning normally again. Unfortunately, there is some cosmetic damage that we were not able to treat.

War’en raised an eyebrow, and followed Hikaro’s motion to see Oren-De. The group approached the bed just as Oren-De was pulling himself up into a sitting position, which caused Red to immediately rush to the Enhasan’s side. War’en, despite his effort to steel himself, was shocked at what he saw.

Oren-De’s distinctive blue skin had gone completely grey. It wasn’t a sickly-looking grey, but instead a smooth, almost graphite color. His hair was still bright blue, but War’en could already see grey roots starting to form at the base. Red placed a hand on Oren-De’s shoulder with firm pressure.

“Captain, you should lie down.”

“I’m fine, Dr. Redwing. Tired, but fine, no doubt thanks to your excellent work.”

Red smiled despite himself, then quickly motioned to Hikaro. “I couldn’t have done it without Commander Tabashi. For a command officer, he knows his way around surgical tools.”

Hikaro gave Red a look. “I did serve in a Medical Bay for ten years before I switched tracks.”

“Sell-out.”

War’en rolled his eyes and looked at Oren-De. The captain caught his stare and shook his head. “I already know about the change in my appearance, Mr. Sadda. If this is all I have to live with after being assimilated, I will gladly accept it. Now, please supply me with a report on the current situation.”

Red’s eyes widened. “Captain, I really don’t think now is—“

“Actually, Red, we do need to discuss it now, especially one rather pressing matter,” War’en replied with a grave voice. Red reflexively glanced at Talona, who took a breath before speaking.

“Captain, I—“

“Talona, unless you were about to express your hope that the captain’s health improves, please keep your mouth shut. I implore you,” quickly interjected War’en. Talona looked at him in surprise, then kept quiet. Oren-De raised an eyebrow, but remained silent as War’en reported everything he had reported to Quinn, save one important item.

“… and Admiral Quinn, by the time Pandora arrives at Earth from transwarp, wants a report on how we managed to liberate you, and the other former drones, from Albina’s control.”

Oren-De nodded slowly. He looked at Talona for a long while before speaking. “I remember… you tackling me. I don’t know why you did it, but I can only assume it was a brilliantly coordinated effort between you and the security team. After all, your move did distract Albina, who was in turn hit with several antiproton blasts. The shock most likely severed her fragile hold on the drones. After all, did she not tell us that her abilities were limited? It was one of the reasons she wished to assimilate me in the first place.”

A wry smile spread across War’en’s face. “Yes, that would be possible. Maggie, would that fit your studies of the Borg?”

Maggie grinned and shrugged. “It’s certainly the most plausible explanation I can think of. We’ve never encountered a situation with a mini-collective run by a non-Queen, so there really is no evidence against that hypothesis.”

Oren-De nodded. “Then we have our report. I will deliver it personally to Admiral Quinn once we arrive at Earth. Now, unless there is something else, I believe Dr. Redwing would like me to rest.”

War’en shook his head. “Nothing more, sir. And… it’s good to have you back.”



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