Chapter -2 Prologue the First - The Assault Of Species ZeroThe Delta Quadrant, circa 2000 AD
There was a word in this sector of space that struck a vein of easy fear in all that lived. That word was Borg.
The mere mention conjured up imagery of vast, indestructible cubes, pure terror made solid. The dead were the lucky ones. The living never even had a chance to envy them. Vast scientific undertakings and holy works of divine wisdom were all turned to serve the rapacious Collective. When they left, there were no survivors. There were merely more Borg.
What was their origin? Some theorized a simple explanation. An elder society grew so dependent on machines, that the machines took over, as happened often in the literature of many worlds. Some said that a civilization bent on perfection simply became even more bent as time went on. Virtually no one subscribed to the discredited legends of a shattered Quadrant, and the steps taken to prepare for the next Shattering. After all, in the modern day, no one believed in Ghidorah.
In airless space, leathern bat-wings the size of mountain ranges should provide no locomotion. They should not move anything at sub-light speeds. They certainly should not be able to propel an organic through the Galactic Barrier. The Borg knew all this, and one other thing as well: That Species Zero had returned to the Last Galaxy. As with all things Borg, it was relayed with a simple message.
"The Collective records the re-emergence of Species 0-0-0-0, Codex Ghidorah, sub-codex Ancient Destroyer. Hive 9391 will move to assimilate. The distinctiveness and power of this species will made to serve the Borg."
Other messages followed.
"For reasons unknown, Hives 9000-10030 do not respond. Other hives are responding to assimilation of Species Zero. A minor diversion of the resources of the Collective. Already, this future drone has driven the technology of the Borg to discoveries that will render us even more powerful."
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The Krenim never responded well to an invasion of their space. The presence of the Three Clock Hands only exaggerated that response.
"Set Chrono-Weapon to Grand Maximum. I want to see what this creature was 10 billion years ago!"
It was a weapon that had given the Krenim rule over a portion of space rivaling even the Borg's. Time was crunched in upon itself, and fates reversed, undone. It fired its awesome array dead-on to the approaching Ghidorah. All around them, species were reduced to protoplasm, and red stars to yellow.
The Krenim themselves were wiped away, save for those that were on the time-ship. All other species, save for the Borg, Ocampa, and El-Aurians, now fleeing the Quadrant, were utterly gone. The Ancient Destroyer did indeed become what it was when time began. The problem for the doomed Krenim ship was that 10 billion years ago, Ghidorah had been Ghidorah. In this, the creature was quite consistent. As the ship fell, its energy was absorbed, and its crew's stupidity was not undone. The last sight the arrogant Krenim Commander ever saw was the golden head bursting through his viewscreen.
The Borg had used Chroniton particles in their technology for years, and so were unaffected by the time-shift. At the cost of their own existence, the Caretaker Entities shielded their sheep-like charges, the Ocampa. When their underground environmental systems failed, though, one day began to seem like nine years. For most Ocampa, that's exactly how it was.
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At least one El-Aurian was not with those fleeing. He was hurriedly working on a device to turn the tide of battle.
"Recording: I, Soran, will call my people back in triumph. The Missile I now launch will be meaningless to the Ancient Destroyer. So will the series of stars that its launching will ignite. The lights in the sky are already winking out, at his coming. But what those stars bring towards me will attract him here, and provide his final doom. I hope to take a cell scraping as a...."
The sky overhead darkened, and Soran launched. A perfect launch, that hit one star and somehow ignited a dozen more as gravity in the sector shifted. Slowly, what the El-Aurians called the Red Backbone Of Night - the Nexus - approached Soran's position. He smiled as he saw Ghidorah hovering mere miles away. The Nexus smashed the creature right in the back, enveloping it entirely.
"Recording: Having disposed of the Monster, I exit this planet to tell my people of the triumph of science and reason over...."
Seeing an energy field starting to re-form into Ghidorah's shape in the form of red, gold, and green spheres, Soran fired his specialized weapon, dispersing that energy, certainly for all time.
"Ahem...Having re-disposed of the Monster, exit the conquering hero, savior through science of an entire..."
Soran felt as though a blast furnace was on the back of his neck. He turned and saw the Death's Head of Ghidorah a mere 500 feet away. He retained his cool, as always.
"Recording: A Note To the Ancient Destroyer, from Soran. Dear Ghidorah: I Don't Like You."
Before he was done, Soran realized that Ghidorah didn't care much for him, either.
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As the years passed, much of the Borg Collective fell and was no more. Finally, the Wall was built. An entire sector of space was covered with the giant cubes. This was necessary, for the creature's gravity beams, fired by the gold head, were so powerful, no shield modulation was adequate against them. The green beam fired by the left head was the bane of all things organic, as was the head's mere touch. The middle head had a similar effect on all things machine, and its red beam had wiped away all vestiges of the Borg Queen, who had attempted to possess the head that fired that beam. In battle, even its tails were a help to it, shredding many a Cube as they twitched.
Only the wings seemed to serve no function. The Collective reasoned that they must serve as a power-source and / or collector, since they obviously could not be used for locomotion. So it was, that in 2063, as Earth made First Contact with Vulcan, the Borg prepared for final battle with Ghidorah. Again, a message was sent.
"All cubes depart to Lycosius Third Junction, Fifth Sector, Ninth Outpost. The Collective will there know its inevitable victory."
As Ghidorah came at the Wall, a huge row of ships, each of which dwarfed even him in size, the attack began. Planet-killing beams shot out, shredding and eventually destroying the great wings. If the Borg could be shocked, they would have been then, for the thing stopped dead in space. Somehow, its wings were its source of movement.
Allowing the Ancient Destroyer no room to escape, the Cubes locked tightly together, and began to fire. The creature limped towards one of the ship blocks, which then redoubled their fire. That fire was having no noticeable effect on the heads, tail, or torso. Energy sparkled out from the wing-stumps. On one side, Ghidorah's wing re-formed at normal size. On the side by the ship blocks, though, it grew and grew further still, cutting through each Borg Cube until it was caught in each and every one. 95% of the remaining Borg Fleet fell when Ghidorah shrugged, and put his wing back to normal size. The wings indeed served a function. Another series of messages went out.
"The Collective has learned much from this encounter with Species Zero."
1 month later.......
"As with many other conquest/assimilations, the Collective has turned significant drone/resources to achieving our goals."
2 Months Later
"The Collective is conserving power as part of a long-term strategy in the war with Species Zero. Its recent foray into fluidic space has bought us valuable time...Species Zero has returned, apparently having destroyed fluidic space and its inhabitants."
3 Months Later
"Resistance to Species Zero has proven futile. Species Zero has rendered the Collective...Irrelevant. One Of One, ending all further tran....."
In another 37 years, not a single star shone in the Delta Quadrant of the last remaining galaxy in the universe. The Enemy Of Life had wiped it clean.