IKC FHew 7C6110
Re-born – Change of plan
by HoD Ro' Matlh & Ensign Jason Hawk & Sogh Marla Varquis & Sogh Thor'nan Mal'Kor & Soghla' Marie St. Helene & Soghla' HIchop Matlh & Soghla' Terri (Tell) Hope & Soghla' Jared
Post Details
Ro' arrived on the bridge. All the senior staff were at their positions, at least physically. Mostly their thoughts were on little Hope in the hold, now under the watchful eye of 'Iw'a'na'.
"Helm," he said quietly, "change course. There is an asteroid system in the Ebraka system 13 light years from here. Set course for it's outskirts. Tell, fix up the girls escape pod. Marie stock it with supplies for three days. Marla, contact the Acheron, and tell them we will no longer be needing their services."
By now Jason knew better than to disobey an order from Ro'. "Aye sir changing course." Jason replied hollowly as he entered their new course.
"Ro' sat heavily in his chair, "The girl has asked to be returned to her family. We will leave her in the asteroid field until the the Borg come and claim her."
Jason stayed silent because he knew that he couldn't change Ro's mind but that didn't mean he liked it. "Are we really going to strand a little girl on an asteroid until she either died or the Borg back for her?" He wondered to himself.
"You can't...." She stopped herself. Ro' could abandon Hope and he probably would unless she handled this very, very carefully.
"I'll prepare the capsule."
"And while I'm at it, I'll prepare one for myself. I have no wish to serve on this vessel any longer. I'd prefer assimilation to serving under someone who can act so callously. At least I won't feel the pain of dishonour."
The Bridge tensed, everyone waiting for Ro' to explode. Strangely enough he didn't. He turned to Marie and he looked old and tired. A couple of the Klingons even glanced away, embarrassed.
"We have one escape pod. It is over there. I am not sure if it works. It has never been checked in the fifty years the FHew has been flying. You are free to leave and choose assimilation, if that is your desire. That is what the child has chosen as well."
He turned away from her to look at the screen again, "So my hands are tied. She is either a Federation citizen, free to disembark when and where she chooses, or she is a Borg, who should be put off my ship at the earliest moment. Either way she is defenceless, and I will not kill her in cold blood. The child has chosen to return to her father, even though it will mean assimilation with him, she will at least be with him."
He sighed deeply, "I am not her parent to guide her in her decisions. I am not a Federation diplomat, with practice in finding a path that suits everyone a little and no one a lot. If any of you, with more experience than I in this, have a plan, feel free to offer it."
Jared looked thoughtful.
"Except... she's being lied to, isn't she?" He said quietly.
He looked around as eyes turned to him.
"I mean... that's why she wants to go back to her parents. She's expecting she'd going back to life as it used to be. Toys and hugs and mothers love. Not intrusive surgery, bionic organ replacement and osmosis of the psyche. The Borg are influencing her and using her native trust to mislead her about the right choice to make."
He looked thoughtful.
"Captain... if she's hearing the Borg now, that means she's connected to the collective with access to their consciousness. This early in the process the potential drone generally doesn't know enough to make use of that. But if you like, I could... teach her to... ask questions."
"I can rig up a synaptic attenuator that would allow her to focus enough to probe the Borg consciousness for information that she wants, rather than just what it's telling her. She could find out where her parents are, what state they're in, what the Borg has planned for her - she'd be able to ask the questions, and the Borg consciousness wouldn't be able to avoid giving her the information - any more than your own memory can resist your mind's attempt to recall facts."
"I mean... it's possible that the child would still choose assimilation. She'd be accessing the Borg's sense of self as well, and it's not impossible that she'd actually LIKE their vision for the future - everyone working together as a gestalt self with no war or inequality. The Borg has quite a high self opinion. But at least she'd be making an informed choice then..."
OOC: [Jared] I'm happy to delete this if it's an unhelpful narrative direction. But I though it opened up interesting and twisty story and character elements and possible endings for the episode. You wanna take Hope on a tour through the Borg hivemind, Joan?
Ro' shook his head, "I don't like it. If you found out your father were a prisoner of the Breen, would you want to meet him? Of course not. Let her keep her memory of her father as he was, the strong, brave protector, for as long as she can. It would only cause her to change her mind if she saw how broken and shattered her father was. We would be destroying her soul to save her body."
"I told the girl that she would be imprisoned, so she has some understanding. She has seen the Borg and she sees what it is doing to her own body. Truth is, she would be reunited with her father, at least, mentally."
Suddenly he straightened up and gave a roar, "Quvatlh, I am getting slow! Jared, if she is hearing the individual voice of her father, that means she is not likely to be hearing the entire collective. Whatever attacked the Federation science vessel withdrew before recovering the girl. It may be a small ship, scared off by our arrival or still in the middle of repairs. We may be able to draw IT to us. place the girl as bait, but when the Borg craft arrives, blow it up. The girl has nothing to return to, we get to do some killing. Everyone is happy, right?"
"Jared, can you rig this up so you can... hack in? Go along for the ride with her and find out some information on the ship and its tactical abilities?"
Jared looked dubious.
"Connecting my own mind to the Borg collective would be all kinds of dangerous for all kinds of reasons."
A thought seemed to strike him.
"Although... It might be possible to ride along with her as she explores. A little like Kartuthi dreamsurfing. I wouldn't be able to control which parts of the collective she looks into, but I could see what she sees and I might be able to pick up information as she goes. Especially if she seeks information on where her parents are and what they're doing. Chances are they'd be on the same vessel that comes to pick her up."
"Only if she's willing though. I'm not gatecrashing her subconscious."
"How long will it take to set up?" Ro' rose from his chair.
Ro' strode off the bridge bellowing orders,the old fire returned, "Marla, get the Acheron to meet us in the Ebraka system. If this works they will still need to help the child. Jared get to work. Thor'nan, check all tactical systems. Tell, May'bel, I want as much yield as you can put into a torpedo. We'll try some of those Quantum torpedoes we are not supposed to have. I'll go and explain to our guest."
by HoD Ro' Matlh & Ensign Jason Hawk & Sogh Marla Varquis & Sogh Thor'nan Mal'Kor & Soghla' Marie St. Helene & Soghla' HIchop Matlh & Soghla' Terri (Tell) Hope & Soghla' Jared
Post Details
| Title | Change of plan | |
| Mission | Re-born | |
| Author(s) | HoD Ro' Matlh & Ensign Jason Hawk & Sogh Marla Varquis & Sogh Thor'nan Mal'Kor & Soghla' Marie St. Helene & Soghla' HIchop Matlh & Soghla' Terri (Tell) Hope & Soghla' Jared | |
| Posted | Mon Dec 12, 2011 @ 5:51am | |
| Location | Whether it is nobler in the mind | |
| Timeline | 7 hours from rendezvous |
"Helm," he said quietly, "change course. There is an asteroid system in the Ebraka system 13 light years from here. Set course for it's outskirts. Tell, fix up the girls escape pod. Marie stock it with supplies for three days. Marla, contact the Acheron, and tell them we will no longer be needing their services."
By now Jason knew better than to disobey an order from Ro'. "Aye sir changing course." Jason replied hollowly as he entered their new course.
"Ro' sat heavily in his chair, "The girl has asked to be returned to her family. We will leave her in the asteroid field until the the Borg come and claim her."
Jason stayed silent because he knew that he couldn't change Ro's mind but that didn't mean he liked it. "Are we really going to strand a little girl on an asteroid until she either died or the Borg back for her?" He wondered to himself.
"You can't...." She stopped herself. Ro' could abandon Hope and he probably would unless she handled this very, very carefully.
"I'll prepare the capsule."
"And while I'm at it, I'll prepare one for myself. I have no wish to serve on this vessel any longer. I'd prefer assimilation to serving under someone who can act so callously. At least I won't feel the pain of dishonour."
The Bridge tensed, everyone waiting for Ro' to explode. Strangely enough he didn't. He turned to Marie and he looked old and tired. A couple of the Klingons even glanced away, embarrassed.
"We have one escape pod. It is over there. I am not sure if it works. It has never been checked in the fifty years the FHew has been flying. You are free to leave and choose assimilation, if that is your desire. That is what the child has chosen as well."
He turned away from her to look at the screen again, "So my hands are tied. She is either a Federation citizen, free to disembark when and where she chooses, or she is a Borg, who should be put off my ship at the earliest moment. Either way she is defenceless, and I will not kill her in cold blood. The child has chosen to return to her father, even though it will mean assimilation with him, she will at least be with him."
He sighed deeply, "I am not her parent to guide her in her decisions. I am not a Federation diplomat, with practice in finding a path that suits everyone a little and no one a lot. If any of you, with more experience than I in this, have a plan, feel free to offer it."
Jared looked thoughtful.
"Except... she's being lied to, isn't she?" He said quietly.
He looked around as eyes turned to him.
"I mean... that's why she wants to go back to her parents. She's expecting she'd going back to life as it used to be. Toys and hugs and mothers love. Not intrusive surgery, bionic organ replacement and osmosis of the psyche. The Borg are influencing her and using her native trust to mislead her about the right choice to make."
He looked thoughtful.
"Captain... if she's hearing the Borg now, that means she's connected to the collective with access to their consciousness. This early in the process the potential drone generally doesn't know enough to make use of that. But if you like, I could... teach her to... ask questions."
"I can rig up a synaptic attenuator that would allow her to focus enough to probe the Borg consciousness for information that she wants, rather than just what it's telling her. She could find out where her parents are, what state they're in, what the Borg has planned for her - she'd be able to ask the questions, and the Borg consciousness wouldn't be able to avoid giving her the information - any more than your own memory can resist your mind's attempt to recall facts."
"I mean... it's possible that the child would still choose assimilation. She'd be accessing the Borg's sense of self as well, and it's not impossible that she'd actually LIKE their vision for the future - everyone working together as a gestalt self with no war or inequality. The Borg has quite a high self opinion. But at least she'd be making an informed choice then..."
OOC: [Jared] I'm happy to delete this if it's an unhelpful narrative direction. But I though it opened up interesting and twisty story and character elements and possible endings for the episode. You wanna take Hope on a tour through the Borg hivemind, Joan?
Ro' shook his head, "I don't like it. If you found out your father were a prisoner of the Breen, would you want to meet him? Of course not. Let her keep her memory of her father as he was, the strong, brave protector, for as long as she can. It would only cause her to change her mind if she saw how broken and shattered her father was. We would be destroying her soul to save her body."
"I told the girl that she would be imprisoned, so she has some understanding. She has seen the Borg and she sees what it is doing to her own body. Truth is, she would be reunited with her father, at least, mentally."
Suddenly he straightened up and gave a roar, "Quvatlh, I am getting slow! Jared, if she is hearing the individual voice of her father, that means she is not likely to be hearing the entire collective. Whatever attacked the Federation science vessel withdrew before recovering the girl. It may be a small ship, scared off by our arrival or still in the middle of repairs. We may be able to draw IT to us. place the girl as bait, but when the Borg craft arrives, blow it up. The girl has nothing to return to, we get to do some killing. Everyone is happy, right?"
"Jared, can you rig this up so you can... hack in? Go along for the ride with her and find out some information on the ship and its tactical abilities?"
Jared looked dubious.
"Connecting my own mind to the Borg collective would be all kinds of dangerous for all kinds of reasons."
A thought seemed to strike him.
"Although... It might be possible to ride along with her as she explores. A little like Kartuthi dreamsurfing. I wouldn't be able to control which parts of the collective she looks into, but I could see what she sees and I might be able to pick up information as she goes. Especially if she seeks information on where her parents are and what they're doing. Chances are they'd be on the same vessel that comes to pick her up."
"Only if she's willing though. I'm not gatecrashing her subconscious."
"How long will it take to set up?" Ro' rose from his chair.
Ro' strode off the bridge bellowing orders,the old fire returned, "Marla, get the Acheron to meet us in the Ebraka system. If this works they will still need to help the child. Jared get to work. Thor'nan, check all tactical systems. Tell, May'bel, I want as much yield as you can put into a torpedo. We'll try some of those Quantum torpedoes we are not supposed to have. I'll go and explain to our guest."