The Fates Series 08 The Final Battle, page 1
Disclaimer: Star Trek: Voyager is owned by Viacom and Paramount. I do not wish to infringe upon any of their claims. This fanfiction is written merely for pleasure, not profit. I do, however, lay claim to Aria, Xara, Danag, Satira, Sargon, Takma, and Kail. They belong to me, so please don’t infringe upon my rights as well. And now that all of the legal jargon is out of the way, here is the final part of The Fates Series.
Note: I would advise looking over the CHARACTER LISTING if you have forgotten some of the previously used characters. There will be references to many of the characters used throughout the series, so it would be best if you remembered them clearly before reading.
The Fates Series
The Final Battle
By: Alys Landale
The Empire had been dealt an enormous blow. With the fall of their central station, Deknoks, and the departure of their Pretor, many Imperial citizens wondered just what would happen to them now. The mighty Imperial ships that had once hunted for
Resistance vessels throughout the sector, now retired to hideaways where they awaited further orders. Due to the fall of Deknoks, those orders, however, would not come. So in truth, the Empire was little more than an abandoned child, waiting to either be rescued or destroyed.
Achieving a feat such as this would give many species a reason to celebrate. But by the somber attitudes of those who had participated in the battle, no one could tell that they had been victorious.
Actually, they were only half-way victorious. The Empire had been brought down, but now a larger threat had emerged.
Takma had plotted a course to Borg space. Every soul on every ship, whether it be Resistance, Federation, or Dezorisian, knew just what that would mean for them. If she succeeded in taking the Borg, which was a relatively small chance, then there would be no way to stop her. But if she was unsuccessful, the Borg would lay claim to the technology that she had stolen. And with that technology, there was no telling what they could accomplish.
So these thoughts weighed down on every officer in the Resistance Armada as it approached the base that it had established as its control center. Less than a day had passed since that battle and the scars ran deep in those who had participated. But as one man stared out of Voyager’s viewport, his thoughts outweighed all others combined.
Tom Paris pulled his coat on over his shoulders. He was so consumed by his thoughts that he didn’t even pay attention to the EMH buzzing around him.
“Mr. Paris, would you mind informing me as to whether you shall ever stay in sickbay the entire amount of time I tell you?” Doc stood waiting for a reply that never came.
He watched the young man slowly walk past him as if he wasn’t even there. From the distant look on his face, he wondered if Tom had actually seen him.
It was by sheer luck that the pilot had willingly stayed as long as he had. Doc recalled coming in a few hours ago to see the man standing in front of the viewport. He had been silent as he watched Tom battle his inner demons. Doc knew from the Commander just what had happened on that mission. He shuddered to think what was going through the man’s mind right now.
After seeing the blood dripping from Tom’s hand, he had asked Paris to allow him to treat his wound. The answer that he received was enough to make his holographic components go off-line. Tom had presented him with an icy glare that had been accompanied by a long silence between each of them.
The only thing that was keeping Paris in sickbay was his injured crewman. Sargon was beginning to come around, and the Captain was at the engineer’s biobed before he could even open his eyes.
Sargon shook his head to clear it. He could barely remember what had happened in that brief lapse between being shot and then arriving on Voyager. As he opened his eyes, a familiar face stood above him.
“How are you feeling?” Paris asked.
Sargon struggled to a sitting position much to the annoyance of the EMH. “My body feels like it fell into the warp core, but I’ll live.” He then brought his eyes up to Rune. “I take it the mission was a success?” he asked hopefully.
A shadow passed over Tom’s face. “We weren’t able to stop Takma, but we destroyed the station.”
“Casualties?” Sargon asked. By the look on Rune’s face, he knew that there was more bad news to come.
“Maris and Gerek were killed. We lost about twelve ships.” He paused briefly as he continued in a quieter tone. “We also lost Xara.”
Sargon’s eyes widened. “What was she doing there?”
Tom cast his eyes downward. “We have a lot to fill you in on.”
Raken was the first one off of his ship. He stormed down the station’s corridors in pursuit of his prey. He was fuming. This entire mission had been a complete failure. Well, not exactly a complete failure, but in his mind anything that wasn’t a complete victory was a failure.
And there was one person on whom all of the responsibility could be placed.
*By the Spirit, I swear that he’ll regret this meeting I have with him. He’s caused the deaths of not only his compatriots, but the consul as well.*
As Raken stormed ahead to find his prey, it never occurred to him that there was nothing more that he could say to make Rune feel any worse than he already did.
B’Elanna caught up with Paris just as he and Sargon were leaving sickbay. The Parvanian had just been given a quick summary of the events he had missed. From the look on his face, B’Elanna knew that Tom had told him everything.
She put a hand on Tom’s arm. “Tom, I was called to Engineering almost immediately when I got back. Are you alright.”
He looked at her for a few moments before replying. “I’m fine. We need to board the base now. I’m sure those we left behind will be in need of an explanation.”
The half-Klingon nodded. There wasn’t anything else she could say. Tom’s silence spoke louder than words could ever convey.
Admiral Paris looked at his surroundings. Everywhere he looked; it seemed that the people around him moved in a mechanical fashion. No one was really aware of what had just happened to them. They had gone with great expectations and returned with immense doubts. Without the Consul, who would lead them? The Resistance was already at a loss for commanding officers. What would they do now, especially when Takma had already slipped through their grasp?
One of the older officials in the base was beside Owen just as he stepped off of the Enterprise. The man had been one of Consul Maris’s personal assistants. Due to his age, he had been unable to go along on the mission, but now he awaited the news from the battle.
“What happened?” asked the man. “Were you successful?”
Owen kept his face masked as he said. “We were able to destroy the Imperial base, but Takma escaped.”
The other man was silent for a moment. As he now looked around at the faces surrounding him, he could tell just how badly everyone was taking it. “I need to talk to the Consul. I’m sure he can further elaborate on our next course of actions.”
“Consul Maris is dead,” replied Owen.
Surprise, or perhaps a better description, shock was evident on the other man’s face. His mouth sagged open for a brief moment as he let this new information sink in.
Owen turned away from the other man. He didn’t even know his name. In fact, he couldn’t remember ever seeing the man before now. Of course, within only a few busy days, it had been easy to miss a few officers here and there.
His attention was then averted as he saw his son just step off of Voyager. The younger man had pushed his emotions back so deeply that not even Owen could tell what he was feeling. The Admiral walked over to Tom. He was barely aware of the two others approaching the man as well.
“Well, Landis, it seems that little escapade of yours didn’t work after all.” Raken said. Tom looked over his shoulder at the
Resistance Captain. If anything, he wasn’t in the mood for this right now.
“Not now, Raken,” he said as he walked past him.
Raken grabbed Tom by the sleeve of his coat before he was able to leave. Tom turned a pair of storm cast eyes towards the man.
“I just want to know what you feel like now that you’re responsible for the Consul’s death.” Raken ground out.
Tom didn’t even warrant the question as worthy of a reply. Pulling his arm from the other man’s grasp, he walked away.
B’Elanna followed close behind. She could feel her own temper beginning to flare up at this man’s provocation, but she pushed it down. If Tom could keep his bottled up, then so could she. At least for a few minutes anyway.
“So you’re just going to walk away,” Raken asked. “You’re not going to impart anymore secret plans. Of course, we don’t have a leader now, so I suppose there’s no one to oppose you.”
Owen had rarely been known to lose his temper, but this man was about to make him do so. He was about to tell Captain
Raken just what he thought when the unnamed man behind him spoke up.
“Captain Landis, I take it the Consul has talked to you?” He asked.
Paris looked over to the older man. He recognized him as one of the Consul’s assistants and advisors; Bachran was his name, though he had rarely seen him. He didn’t even have to ask as to what the man was referring to. “Yes, he talked to me.”
The old man smiled. “Good, Maris told me his decision. I’m glad to see that he had spoken to you about it. You will accept, of course.”
Tom nodded a bit reluctantly.
Those around them had no idea what the pair were talking about. Raken was the first to voice his thoughts. “Just what the hell are you two talking about. If anything, we need to find a replacement for Maris now. We can’t allow the recent ‘events’ to distract us from the matter at hand.” He turned to the old man. “Gather all of our senior officers together, we’ll need to choose a replacement quickly. Since Takma’s escape, there’s no telling when we’ll have our next battle.”
The old man looked Raken in the eye. His gaze was stern as he said, “Consul Maris has already named his successor.”
Raken’s brow furrowed. “Just who did he...”
The old man turned back to Rune, “Would you like me to inform the others of your new office, Consul Landis?”
Raken’s eyes widened and his jaw went slack as the news struck him. Both B’Elanna and Owen were equally perplexed. Tom... Consul?
“I suppose you should,” he stated. “Have all high ranking officials, in both the Resistance and Starfleet, meet me in the briefing room on level three.”
Raken felt as if his temper was about to melt him to the core. “There has to be some mistake. Landis is not the Consul.”
He turned to Rune. “If you think anyone is going to follow you now, after what you just pulled, then you’ve got something coming.”
“Well, Raken, it seems that for now, you’ll have to. I want ‘all’ senior officers present for a debriefing in half an hour. If you have any problems, you can bring them up there. Am I understood?”
At Raken’s silence, Tom walked away with B’Elanna and the Admiral in his wake.
Raken’s eyes burned holes into Rune’s back, but he said nothing. How dare he be talked to in such a manner. But the captain remained silent. He would wait until later. Then the new consul would see just what he thought of him.
“Tom,” B’Elanna said as she tried to catch up with him. “What do you mean, you’re the Consul?” she asked. It seemed that no one had been good enough to tell her about any of these events.
Tom slowed down his pace. “Consul Maris asked me if I would take over for him if anything ever happened to him. At the time, I didn’t put much value in it. I guess I figured with my lifestyle, he’d outlive me. But now it seems I was wrong.”
“And you were going to tell me this when?” she asked mockingly.
For the first time since the battle, a hint of a smile touched his lips. “I guess it slipped my mind.”
She let her lips form a small smile as well. “I’d appreciate it if things like this wouldn’t just slip your mind. Otherwise, I just might lose my temper.”
The Admiral stepped forward as well. “I suppose I should be calling you sir now,” he said.
Tom had to give the man credit. He knew that he wasn’t used to speaking in any way but professionally, but here he was trying to be light-hearted. The smile on Tom’s lips slowly turned into a small grin.
“Call me sir and I’ll throw you into the brig,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned, this is only temporary. Once this is over, we’ll find a better replacement, but for now, I’ll assume the position. Temporarily.”
The two nodded. Owen looked at his son in a new light now. He had always dreamed of him following in the family tradition and becoming a high-ranking officer in Starfleet. Once Tom had been lost and Owen’s anger had cooled down some from Tom’s time in prison, he had finally realized that it was his son’s decision just what he wanted to do. Of course, it had been too late then, and it was basically too late now. The man standing before him now might share his son’s body, but this was Rune Landis through and through. He still found it hard to believe how much his son had changed, but the disbelief was slowly beginning to fade away as he realized all that the man had been through. This last battle had shown that to be true.
Tom turned down one of the corridors towards the briefing room. He still had a half hour until it was time for the others to arrive, but he would rather get there earlier. As he rounded a corner, the familiar vertigo began to pull at his outer shields.
*Why does this always have to happen at the worst times?* he wondered.
B’Elanna watched as a pained look crossed over Tom’s face. “Tom is something...” She didn’t have time to finish her question before she watched Tom’s body begin to slowly slide to the floor.
She put an arm around him. “Computer Emergency Medic...”
“Belay that order,” Tom ground out through clenched teeth.
B’Elanna had a look of anger covering her face. “Tom we have to get you to sickbay now.”
The Admiral had to agree with her. “You probably left too early. We should get you back to the doctor before you get any worse.”
Tom could feel the vertigo beginning to consume him. He fought it for a few more minutes. “This... has happened before... it’ll pass in a few minutes.”
B’Elanna’s temper was beginning to rise. “Tom, we don’t know that.”
“‘I’ know that...” he told her. His eyes seemed to plead with hers for a few moments. “I’ll be fine... just give me a few minutes... please.”
B’Elanna could see the resolution in her mate’s eyes. Despite what she wanted, she knew she should honor his wish. She looked up to the Admiral for confirmation.
Owen looked down at his son. Memories of a time long ago flashed through his mind form when Tom had asked a similar request. That time, Owen had refused it for unjust reasons. This time...
His face was stern as he said. “Keep an eye on his condition. If he worsens, we beam him to sickbay.”
*
Evae stormed out of the room. How could Vestin be so cold? Didn’t he care about his family? These thoughts were coursing through Evae’s head as she made her way through the bottom level of their facility.
The baby in her arms began to fidget as they made their way through this level. Evae looked down at her. “What’s wrong my little princess?” She asked. “You must be as upset as I am.”
Her daughter was unable to reply to the question, so instead, she just continued her crying. Evae felt a few tears pricking at her eyes as well. She loved Vestin more than anything, but she couldn’t go on if he didn’t feel the same about her. As the tears began to blur her vision, she was unable to wipe them away due to the bundle in her arm.
She turned her attention back to the crying child in her arms. “Don’t worry, we’ll be home soon. Then maybe Vestin will see the error in his ways and come home as well.”
Evae paused for a moment to soothe her child. If she had kept going then maybe she would have been able to get out in time.
Maybe the course of an entire time could have been altered if she had just not paused there, but she had.
The first level was full of equipment. Vestin stored most of the assimilation machinery down there for future use. In fact, that was where most of the assimilations had taken place. As she stood there, she was oblivious to the man working above her.
Just as he made his final adjustments, he lost his grip on one of the instruments he had been using. As it hit a large container, it began a chain reaction, which set off a set of explosions nearby.
The man was able to jump away just in time, but anyone on the ground wasn’t half as lucky. Evae looked up just in time to see one of the assimilation chambers nearby explode. She wrapped her arms tightly around her child and tried her best to protect her from any of the falling wreckage. As consoles blew and machinery fell to the floor, the high-pitched scream of a child could be heard above all the rest.
Tom watched all of this happen to the young woman and child. Now as he stood on the usual dark plane, his eyes sought the one who had brought him here. Aria appeared by his side moments later.
*Aria, what’s going on?* he asked. His voice held more of a tired annoyance in it than anger.
She turned a pair of saddened eyes to him. *There’s still more that you have to see. Right now, you have been presented with Vestin Landis.*
*The man who created the Borg.* he continued.
Aria was silent for a moment. *Sometimes even the greatest intentions turn out to be the worst mistakes. You’ll see what I mean soon.*
