Chapter Two

“That’s not good enough!” roared Ira. “I want to know what that thing is, and what the hell it wants. Now!” Ira snapped his stocky frame away from the council table, and turned to face the window.

Patience Ira, his other whispered in his mind, They are doing what they can!

Ira drew in a deep breath, and ran his hand through his long beard, as he often did when he was nervous. Yes, yes, I just hope that we are alive when they finally come up with an answer, he thought.

“Excuse my other,” Yavitz calmly explained. “He knows that you are doing your best. He is just concerned about the people. How many will be hurt or even killed in the rioting alone? There is bound to be a great deal of panic if we do not come up with an answer soon.”

“Usumi,” one of the council members began, “I suggest we declare a state of emergency, now, before any rioting starts. A curfew has already been imposed in the Banik’Uma providence, and that has been effective so far. Keeping people indoors is helping the Guard keep control.”

The Usumi, the First Citizens of Bint’Ari, considered the idea for a moment. Traditionally, the Usumi were bound, as were all political leaders on Bint’Ari. Decisions, therefore, were a result of a compromise between the ideas of the two leaders, one of each sex. This practice lead to the dominance of moderate decisions that most felt were the fairest. It was not uncommon, therefore, that any proposals made to the Usumi were directed at both, even if only one of the pair was present. Location of the second made no difference when it came to the Bound. The telepathic link was just as strong over great distances as it was when the couple stood next to one another.

“Agreed,” Yavitz finally pronounced. “Jestin?”

Yavitz’s personal assistant took a step inside of the council chamber. “Yes Usum?”

“We are going to be declaring a world wide state of emergency. Please see to it that the proper steps are taken.”

Jestin bowed her head politely. “Yes, Usum.” The unimposing Bint’Ari quietly left the room.

“The question is, is this an alien intelligence, and if it is, why don’t they answer us?” Ira asked. He was clearly puzzled, and very worried.

“There is no doubt someone built that thing,” another of the council members explained. “A perfect cube cannot be created naturally. But as to whether or not someone is in that thing, we are not able to determine that.”

“Can’t we send a ship up, and have it investigate?”

“We did. It disappeared. We are assuming it was destroyed by the cube, but we have no evidence either way.”

Silence prevailed around the table for several moments. The council members did what they could to hide their imagined ineptness, each of them doing what they could to avoid eye contact with the Usumi.

“How long until it reaches us?” Yavitz finally asked, breaking the silence.

“Less than eight cycles.”

Not much time. Ira looked back towards the table with a renewed determination in his eyes. “We need to evacuate as many people as we can. See to it that every ship we can muster is full of people, and get them off of the planet.”

“Where will they go? We haven’t any stations completed yet that aren’t in orbit around this planet.”

“They can hide in the nebula,” Ira answered. “Better there than on the surface when that thing gets here. We don’t know if it will crash, which would be disastrous for the planet, as massive as that thing is, or if it plans to attack, or if it is friendly. We could be dealing with the worst catastrophe this world has ever seen, and I don’t think it is in our best interests to just wait and see what happens.”

“And,” Yavitz added, “All key government personnel are to remain on the surface. You all should make a point of visiting as many of the shelters in your home providence as you can. That should assure the people that we are working for their best interests, and not our own. It is essential that we avoid any unnecessary rioting, and government personnel leaving the surface would cause just that.”

“Usumi,” one of the council ventured, “you are talking about a massive evacuation. It is going to be impossible to organize it in a fair manner. The evacuation of only a small percentage of the population is certain to cause bitterness among the people who may very well be condemned here to die.”

His protest was greeted with a blank stare from Ira. “Do you have a different suggestion? We have to make sure someone survives. We could be facing the destruction of our civilization here! And even if it is a bum off the street that manages to make it to safety, our civilization will survive. So unless you do have a better idea, get it done!”

The council began to break up, and Ira motioned for Yipu to join him by the window. Ira silently wished his other well as she exited the room along with the other members of the Council, and turned his attention to his Minister of the Guard.

“What if this an invading alien force. Can we possibly repel it?” Ira asked.

“Usum, we have never seen anything like this. There is no way of knowing what sorts of technology these aliens might have. I would have no idea what to prepare for.”

“We have to assume that there is something on that thing, and that it isn’t friendly. Do we have any fliers that could reach orbit? Perhaps there is a chance we could-”

“I am sorry sir. There is no way we could put a flier up there without mounting it on a rocket. We just do not have the equipment to do that! And none of our current space-capable craft are armed in any way.”

“We have to do something!” Ira replied, not hiding the annoyance in his voice. “We have had to deal with rebellions and many sorts of minor skirmishes since Unification. We are not defenseless!”

“I agree Usum, but with all due respect, this is not a small band of guerrillas. We have had no reason to arm ourselves for a serious war since Unification. Our army is nothing more than a large police force, with a few big guns. If that thing is an invading alien force, there will be very little we can do to repel it.”

“Well, keep thinking. We have to come up with something,” Ira tried to manage a smile.

Yipu bowed his head, and took his cue to leave. Ira continued to stare out the window, squinting to see a cube that was still not close enough to observe without a telescope. He just wasn’t certain what to think. The first time his world had any sort of alien contact, and he was preparing for war. What else could he do? Hopefully, things would prove to be just fine when the cube arrived, and whoever was on that thing would prove to be a friendly, peaceful race. But he still had that ache in his stomach that was telling him to panic.

---

Tom Paris was falling, and he loved every second of it. Voyager’s navigator turned his head to see a panicking Harry Kim falling next to him. Kim’s mouth was open, but Paris could not hear the scream that was obviously there. Paris glanced quickly at the altimeter strapped to his wrist, and signaled to Kim that the time had come.Seconds later, both men pulled their rip-cords, and two bright blue parachutes violently slowed their descents.

Minutes later the two touched down somewhere in Iowa, next to a wind-tilted cornfield. A few lazy cows looked up to see what had fallen from the sky. Uninterested, they returned to their bored grazing.

“Never again,” began Harry, “will I let you talk me into doing anything my stomach tells me that I shouldn’t!”

“Where is your spirit of adventure?” replied a winded but smiling Tom Paris. “You were safe the whole time, after all. It’s pretty well impossible to fall to your death inside of the holodeck.”

“Safety protocols or no, jumping out of a plane that appears to be a very real several thousand feet in the air is something I’m never doing again,” replied Harry.

Paris shook his head. “So bungee jumping out of a hot air balloon is out for tomorrow?”

Kim nodded his head in a way that could only be interpreted as ‘duh!’ and laughed his way out of the holodeck.

“You have to try it at least once!” called Paris, who walked out after the unusually pale Operations Officer.

---

Kon’Oro paced the length of the reception hall. The state of emergency was called nearly seven cycles ago, and all of the guests had returned home. Due to the fact that the Ari’cada had already been administered, the Kon’Oro and Mekon’Aila families had been allowed to remain at the temple until the Bint’aja had been completed. If the bonding was not performed within a reasonable amount of time after a couple took the Ari’cada, severe brain damage could result.So, four cycles ago, Jaskin, Oro, and the ceremony master entered the Bint’aja chamber and closed the doors. Meanwhile, the families waited nervously outside. Traditionally, the celebration would continue until the bonding was complete. But under the circumstances, no one really felt too much like being there. Everyone was hoping that Jaskin’Oro would emerge as soon as possible, so that everyone could go back home.

Unfortunately, there was no knowing how long that would take. The longest Bint’aja took fifty-two cycles to complete. The shortest, a mere twenty-one periods, happened over thirty seasons ago. Usually, time wasn’t an issue. The celebration filled up the time in between, so no one noticed how long it took.

When Oro looked out the window and saw the cube-shaped object coming dangerously close to blocking out the sun, time had become very much an issue. Oro feared for both families, and wanted to get them to safety.

---

Yavitz entered the communication building, and approached the technician on duty. She noticed how tired he seemed, how the bags under his eyes seemed so out of place with the rest of his energetic features. Normally, his job was to monitor communication bandwidths – radio broadcasts, newswires, and the like, listening for things that the news media might pick up before the various government agencies. Typically, his job was one of the most boring duties one could draw. Not so, today.’He is to young to die,‘ came unbidden to her mind. She fought to ignore the looming possibility of death that the mysterious cube provided.

“Are all of the ships away?” She asked. The technician leapt to his feet, and turned to face her. It was clear that he had not heard her come in. It was custom for a citizen to rise when the Usumi enter a room.

“Usum! I am so sorry. I didn’t see you, I was-” Yavitz waved away the excuses, letting him know that she understood the lapse.

“You are quite busy. I understand. The ships?”

The technician sat back down. “The last of them just left the surface. Whatever that thing is, it is ignoring them.”

“Where will they go?”

“Well,” the technician began, reclining in his chair. “Most of them will hide in the nebula. There they will wait, and see what happens. One of the ships was equipped with a new sleeper system, designed to allow manned ships to travel between the stars. The Exploration Branch thought it was an excellent time to test the system. Hopefully, the people on board that ship will find a safe place to live.”

Yavitz was somewhat relieved that the evacuation was going well. If some of the people on board those ships managed to survive, and find a safe place to live, the Bint’Ari culture would not perish. It gave her some hope.

“What is your name?” she asked, embarrassed that she did not already know.

“Xytin’Ito, ma’am.” said the technician, as he continued his work.

“Where is your other?”

Ito swallowed hard. “Xytin is in the space program. She was chosen to go on board the sleeper ship.”

Yavitz was uncertain whether to be happy or sad for the young man. It was good to know that his other would be safe from whatever was going to happen on Bint’Ari. But with that person in a state of suspended animation? That would be just as if they were to die. Yavitz was not certain that she could live knowing that her Ira was still alive, but she could no longer feel his thoughts inside of her own.

When her father died, Yavitz’s mother described the emptiness she felt as loosing a part of yourself. And this young man could expect that feeling years before the death of his other. There were very few worse things that could happen to anyone.

“How long until she goes into hibernation?”

“She has been asleep now for five cycles.”

Yavitz placed a comforting hand on the young man’s shoulder. There was nothing she could do to ease his suffering, but it made her feel better to make the gesture. Just then, a red light appeared on Ito’s terminal.

The technician sat up straight, and adjusted his earpiece. “We are receiving a transmission from the cube!”

“Well, let’s hear it!” Yavitz demanded.

A speaker cracked and sputtered a bit. Ito adjusted several controls until the static was replaced by clear silence. Then an ominously monotonous voice was heard.

“We are the Borg. Life as you know it is over. We desire to improve ourselves. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile.” The transmission abruptly ended.

“Are they going to attack?” Yavitz asked, a bit nervously.

“That’s what it sounded like to me,” replied Ito, as he hurriedly began to tend to the hundreds of lights that appeared all over his terminal. “It sees that several strange ‘beings’ have appeared out of nowhere all over the globe. They haven’t taken any aggressive action, however. They seem to be making some observations, nothing more.”

“Beings? Aliens you mean?”

Ito listened to his earpiece a moment. “They are definitely alien, I am hearing something about armored suits- not much else on appearance or technology. But to appear out of nowhere? If they have achieved teleportation for objects as complex as a person, I’d say we have a serious problem.”

“What do you mean?” Yavitz asked, a little lost.

“We can teleport atoms over a short distance now, but it takes a tremendous amount of computer memory. Theoretically, it is possible to teleport anything, but we only have the capability to transport something as large as a molecule across a room. If they can teleport an entire individual from a ship in orbit, and send so many of them so quickly, I would say they have a vastly superior technology. They may have weapons we cannot even imagine. And if they mean to conquer us, as they seem to, I am not certain how we can stop them.”

Yavitz looked worried. “Do whatever you can to get the word out that people are not to interfere with the aliens. I will pass on this information to Yipu, and we shall have to see what he can come up with. Also, try to raise the ship again. Perhaps they can tell us ’specifically’ what they want from us.”

Ito nodded. “They just won’t respond to any of my hails.” He turned to look at Yavitz. “I don’t think they care they least about us. Frankly, I am surprised they even sent that message. They seem to do whatever they feel, without any regard for us. I haven’t heard anything about one of those things attacking a single Bint’Ari. It is like we don’t even exist.”

“Perhaps we will be lucky. Maybe there is something that they want, and they will leave after they find it,” Yavitz suggested. “I just hope that they find it fast. I can’t imagine what is going on with the people stuck in their homes watching those things walk around outside.”

“Well, not just outside, ma’am.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, according to what I am hearing, most of the things have appeared inside of various buildings. Not too many homes, but a few. So far, everyone who have contacted emergency services about the intrusions have been told to stay out of the aliens’ way. There have been no serious incidents.”

“You make certain that there aren’t,” replied Yavitz. “I don’t want some hothead taking a charger to one of these things. Hopefully, if we don’t provoke them, they will take what they want and go away.”

“I have broadcasted that warning over every commercial band. Hopefully, the word will spread.”

Yavitz nodded. “Excellent.” Yavitz turned to leave the room, but a new flutter of lights on Ito’s terminal halted her departure.

“What was that?”

“One of the aliens has attacked a mechanic in the Sympek Providence, who would not let the thing near some of his equipment. Guard units responded.” Ito’s face turned to a frown. “As soon as the Guard moved in, six more of them teleported in, and killed seven members of the Guard Unit. The remaining three have fled.”

Yavitz gravely shook her head, and left the room. Ito’s panels continued to light up like a Christmas Tree. He put his hands on his head and leaned back in his chair, watching the lights, and listening to the line chatter. He listened to the reports in awe, knowing that there was little more that he could do as the destruction of his people began.

---

Oro snapped awake and looked at the clock. Even though the clock said it was late afternoon, the sky outside was pitch black. He panicked when he remembered why. He looked around the room and saw his children, and felt at ease. He knew instantly where his other was, and walked outside to join her.It’s so big, Kon thought, as she looked up at the giant cube that was blotting out the sun. It was a spectacular sight, the massive, dark cube being surrounded by rays of light around its edges. Having no moons with orbits that intersected the sun’s path in the sky, the people of Bint’Ari had never seen there sun eclipsed. It was a frightening sight.

Oro marveled at the resources it would take to build such a giant ship. He felt an overwhelming pang of fear he knew came from his other, and empathically reached out to comfort her.

It was then that a dull blue shimmer appeared for an instant several yards away from them. When it faded, a man, of sorts, stood in its place. It was taller than the average Bint’Ari, and odd looking because it had no visible hair. Odder still was that it seemed to be wearing all sorts of mechanical devices. One of its forearms was encased in a sort of a dull black cylinder, with various tools attached to the end of it. It wore on its head a half-helmet that covered one eye, and attached to the side was a LASER that pinpointed the spot where the creature was looking.

Get in the temple, he instructed his other, not entirely certain if it was necessary. After all, the creature was just looking around.

What are you talking about? You are coming with me-

Go in the temple! He snapped back.

His other hurried inside, and Oro ignored the barrage of protests she hurled his way. He eased his way down the steps outside of the temple, and walked cautiously to the creature.

He must come from the cube, he thought. It wasn’t armed, as far as he could see, so perhaps it wasn’t a threat.

Oro got within an arms length of the creature, and stopped. It took no notice of him, and continued its inspection of anything in front of it.

“Hello?” Oro offered, hoping to get its attention. The creature took a step, away from Oro, in the direction of a public comm-link. Oro followed the creature, who continued to scan everything but him. Oro grew frustrated.

Oro waved his arms. “Can you understand me?” He asked. The creature refused to respond.

“Can you even hear me?” He demanded, almost yelling.

The creature continued its inspection of the comm-link. Oro looked around to see if anymore had appeared. When he turned his attention back to it, the creature was facing Oro. Oro took a step backwards in surprise. The creature looked him over in the same manner in which it had been inspecting the comm-link, as if examining a piece of merchandise.

“Are you looking for something?”

The creature finished his examination of Oro, and walked farther down the street. He thought to follow it, but decided it might be safer to return to the temple. Something about the creature’s behavior scared him.

“There’s one!” Oro turned and saw a Guard Unit round a corner, and jog straight towards the creature. One of the officers pulled out a charger pistol, and fired at the alien. Sparks flew from the creature, and it fell flat on its face. A cheer erupted from the officers, but it was short lived. Another alien appeared next to its fallen companion. As the new creature bent down to investigate the dead one, another shot was fired. This time, a barely visible wall appeared just inches away from its head, completely absorbing the shot. Acting as if it didn’t even notice it was being fired upon, the new creature removed a piece of the fallen one’s shoulder, who then disintegrated completely. It then turned towards the Guard squadron, and evenly walked towards them. Every one of the officers fired this time, with none of the charger bolts getting through the creature’s shields. Several of the guards dropped their chargers and ran away. A few charged the alien, hoping to subdue it physically. Unfortunately, the ones who fled were wiser.

The alien swung its mechanical arm and caught the first of the guards square in the jaw. The blow was so powerful; it sent the much smaller man flying several feet. The man hit the ground, and never got up.

Without missing a beat, it grabbed the second guard and held him in a sort of headlock. It reached around with its non-mechanical arm, and out of its fingers shot two fang-like chords. They lashed in and out of his neck in less than a second, and the guard was cast aside, and the alien continued his advance on the rest of the squad.

The second guard began to howl in agony. Thick, blue lines began to bulge on his face. The guard dropped to his knees, weeping. The sight of the tortured Guard sent Oro running back into the temple. Before he closed the door behind him, he saw dozens more of the creatures shimmer into existence around the remaining members of the Guard unit.

Oro walked right into the horror stricken face of Kon. Of course she saw everything that went on outside. She saw what he saw, through his eyes. He grabbed her hand and began to pull her towards the rear of the temple.

He then noticed his son, with his new bond mate. He allowed himself a moment of pride as he saw his son finally bound, but the feeling passed quickly as he saw they troubled looks on both of their faces. He motioned his son to follow him, and Jaskin’s father, Aila, lead everyone else to the rear of the temple.

“How do you feel?” he asked his son as they began to bar the doors.

“Its a little confusing, but I think I will be ok,” the younger Oro replied. “Jaskin is very nervous right now. I can’t ignore her voice. She isn’t saying anything, but inwardly she is panicking like you wouldn’t believe. It is driving me insane!”

Oro knew as soon as his son opened his mouth what was going to happen. His son winced, and began quietly mumbling apologies to his Other. Not only did newly bound couples often forget that their others know everything the other says, they also hadn’t yet realize that their mouths did not have to form the words intended for each other. It was rare to find a couple that spoke aloud to one another that had been bound longer than a season.

“Oro, you are going to have to learn that Jaskin, from this point on, is always with you. She can hear and see everything you do. She now knows everything you know. Everything you remember about your past, she can relive as if it were her own memory. She knows absolutely everything you think and feel. You can’t hide anything from each other.”

“I am beginning to see that, Father,” his son replied, rubbing his temples. “She is scared, and so am I. What is going on out there?”

Oro explained to his son everything he saw of the alien, and what happened when the Guard unit showed up. His son listened, but could not possibly grasp Oro’s horror at the sight of the alien. Such thing could not be described, only seen.

“What about the Aria?” his son asked, when his story was done.

“What about them?” Oro asked, puzzled. The Aria were sacred blades, used by the ancient Bint’Ari hundreds of seasons ago.

“Well, you said that we cannot shoot them, and they are much stronger than a man,” his son explained. “We need some kind of weapon. Why not a blade? We can touch them, and what good is a strong arm if it is cut off?”

Oro remembered the dozens of Aria hanging from the temple walls and smiled. He gripped his son’s shoulder, and grabbed a chair to stand on. His son followed his lead, and helped to take the swords off of the wall.

All Bint’Ari males were taught to use the Aria from their sixth cycle until adulthood. The technique taught was purely ceremonial, not intended to use in battle. The Aria was an important part of the history of the world, and the children were taught its use in order to strengthen their own cultural identity. But now they needed to use the ancient blade, and had an entire population that could handle the swords. With a little anger and a little time, a ceremonial technique could easily become a lethal, battle style.

Aila, Jaskin’s father, returned to the ceremony chamber. “Everyone is safely in the back now. We should go, too.”

The two men ignored Aila, and continued to pull swords off of the wall. Aila, who saw their purpose, began to help. The Aria themselves were very similar to Arabic blades of Earth; thick, curves blades. The blade curved towards the hilt, and hooked out towards the enemy just beneath the base. The hilt itself was off-set, a two handed grip attached to the back of the blade. This way, the entire length of the sword could be used defensively, without having to worry about injuring the hand.

The three men made their way to the rear of the temple, each with two Aria in their hands. They stopped abruptly when one of the aliens appeared unexpectedly in front of them. Oro and Aila were shocked, never having seen one of the creatures before. Kon’Oro was merely startled, as he did not expect that they could appear inside of buildings. He dropped one of his blades and charged the creature. With one swift motion, separated the alien’s head from his body.

Kon’Oro turned to see his son and Aila attacking two others who had appeared in the room. They were having a tougher time, as apparently the aliens now knew what to expect from the blades. Their attempts to ward off the attacks were futile, however. There wasn’t a part of their body that could stand up to the sharp blade. Sparks flew from the creatures as their limbs were steadily hacked off.

Kon’Oro allowed himself a moment to feel the adrenaline rushing through his body. He had never fought like this, to the death, where his opponent meant to kill him if he did not do likewise. He had never before killed a man. It was exhilarating to him.

His heart almost stopped as he saw an alien materialize in front of him. But not in front of him, that one was dead. He saw this through his Other’s eyes. Before he even realized this, he was running as fast as he could towards her.

His son was close behind him, but Aila was still fighting with the alien. They all could see just as well what was happening in the rear of the temple through their own Other’s eyes.

Kon’Oro fell to his knees halfway down the corridor. His son did not even slow down to check on him. He knew that if he did not get to his Jaskin soon, that might be him on the floor.

He could see it all. The appearance of the creature, and his mother’s brave stance to protect those in the sanctuary. The creature steadily approached his mother, who did something very unexpected. She punched it, and broke its nose. It stood still for a moment, with blood pouring down its face, deciding what to do next. Suddenly, its hand shot out and grabbed his mother by the neck. Isu, Oro’s younger brother, ran forward to protect her. The poor boy had no chance. The alien swung its mechanical arm and caught the boy in the chest. Isu slammed against the wall, and fell to the ground. Rogus ran to her brother, and screamed when she could not get him to open his eyes.

Kon was struggling, trying to loosen the alien’s grip on her neck. It didn’t flinch. To talons flashed out of the alien’s fingers, and caught his mother at the base of the jaw. He then flung her aside. He face became twisted and swollen as she screamed in pain.

What the younger Oro could not see was something only his father could. As soon as the talons bit into Kon’s face, he felt an immediate change. Bits of her mind began to wander aimlessly. The force of her being, the greater part of her mind, called to him for help, help he could not offer. As her mind began to weaken, he felt a new presence, a small but powerful personality. It was trying to conquer Kon’s mind.

“Join with us,” the voice sang. “We will care for you. We will heal you. We will protect you. You will be safe with us. Here, you will worry about nothing. Become one with us. Become one with the Borg. It is useless to resist. We wish to care for you.” The voice was unending. It continued to offer promises of tranquility and unity.” Slowly Kon’s mind began to yield itself.

NO! Oro’s mind screamed in terror, as he felt his beloved’s mind slip away. Don’t give in!

It was useless. It took only moments for Kon’s mind to completely submit. Oro braced himself for the terrible emptiness one felt after losing a mate. It never came. What he felt now was much worse.

Thousands of minds filled the void left by Kon’s voice. All intent on a single purpose, the claiming of the Bint’Ari civilization. It was frightening how so many minds all worked in such unison. Oro found it difficult to shut out so many voices from his thoughts, as strong as they were. The collective then realized his mind was still present, and began to direct their song towards him.

“You, too, must become one with the Borg. Resistance is futile.” Oro screamed silently, and fell unconscious.

Star Trek, Voyager, and related properties are © Paramount Studio, and the author makes no claim towards them.

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