Vega Colony – Surface
They materialised in chaos.
The colony plaza was a war zone—buildings gutted by fire, smoke curling into a blood-red sky. Borg drones moved methodically through the wreckage, green beams stabbing down from orbit as more drones materialised in showers of emerald light.
"Multiple life signs nearby," T'Lenn reported, scanning with her tricorder. "But assimilation is in progress."
"Not if we can help it," Rios growled. "Form up! Cover the civilians!"
Phaser fire erupted as the team opened up on advancing drones. The Borg adapted quickly, green shields flaring as they returned fire. Rios dove behind a shattered wall, firing controlled bursts. One drone fell, another kept coming—its mechanical arm snapping open like a blade.
"Commander!" Vega shouted, dragging a screaming colonist out of harm's way.
"Fall back to the shelter entrance!" Rios ordered. "We hold them there!"
Above, the sky split with green light as the Borg sphere unleashed another beam—this one aimed at the colony's power grid. The ground shook violently as the lights winked out.
USS Horizon
"Direct hit on the colony's fusion plant!" Jorak shouted. "They're trying to cut power to the planetary shields!"
"Not if I can help it," Vann snapped. "Helm—bring us between that sphere and the planet. Tactical—target their weapon emitters. Maximum yield!"
The Horizon roared forward, phasers blazing, torpedoes streaking like blue comets. The Borg sphere turned to meet them, its green beams slicing through the void.
The battle for Vega had begun in earnest.
Vega Colony – Surface
The plaza was a nightmare of smoke and green light. Borg drones advanced in relentless formation, their mechanical limbs glinting in the firelight. Rios ducked behind a shattered wall as a disruptor beam scorched the ground where he'd been standing seconds before.
"Cover fire!" he shouted, squeezing off a burst from his phaser rifle. The beam struck a drone square in the chest, dropping it—only for another to step over the body without hesitation.
T'Lenn crouched beside him, tricorder in hand. "I have located a cluster of survivors—thirty meters east, inside a collapsed shelter. However, Borg drones are converging on their position."
"Then we move," Rios said, signalling to Vega and Korr. "Suppressing fire on my mark. We clear a path and don't stop until we reach that shelter."
"Understood," T'Lenn replied calmly, as if they weren't standing in the middle of hell.
"Mark!"
The team surged forward, phasers blazing. Drones fell, sparks flying as their implants overloaded—but the Collective adapted fast. Green shields shimmered, deflecting the next volley. A drone raised its assimilation tubules, lunging for Vega—
Rios fired point-blank, the drone collapsing in a heap of metal and flesh. "Move! Move!"
They reached the shelter entrance—a jagged hole in the ground where a blast had torn through the plaza. Inside, terrified colonists huddled in the dark, their faces pale in the flickering light.
"Starfleet!" Rios called out. "We're getting you out of here!"
A woman clutched his arm, eyes wide with fear. "They're… they're taking people. Turning them into—"
"I know," Rios said, cutting her off gently. "Everyone, stay close."
He tapped his combadge. "Rios to Horizon. We've got survivors—request immediate beam-out!"
Static hissed back at him, followed by Daxan's strained voice:
"Transporters are offline! Borg interference is spiking across the grid. You're on your own for now!"
Rios cursed under his breath. "Then we hold this position until you clear it. We're starting to collect the colony's data."
USS Horizon
The bridge was chaotic. The Borg sphere loomed on the viewscreen, green beams hammering the Horizon's shields.
"Shields at twenty-eight percent!" Jorak roared. "Hull breaches on decks seven and eight!"
"Reroute power from secondary systems!" Vann snapped. "Keep those shields up!"
"Captain," T'Lenn's voice came over comms from the surface, calm but urgent. "The Borg are adapting faster than anticipated. We require immediate extraction."
"Working on it," Vann replied, antennae rigid. "Hold your ground, Commander. We'll buy you time."
She turned to Jorak. "Target their weapon emitters."
The Horizon swung hard, phasers blazing in a desperate arc. Torpedoes streaked across the void, detonating against the sphere's hull in bursts of blue-white fire. The Borg ship shuddered—but it wasn't enough.
Vega Colony
The ground shook as another Borg beam slammed into the colony's power grid. Smoke and dust filled the air, stinging Rios's eyes. He crouched behind a shattered wall, phaser rifle hot in his hands, as green disruptor fire carved glowing scars into the rubble.
"Status on those survivors?" he shouted over the din.
T'Lenn's voice was calm, even as chaos raged around them. Five hundred colonists accounted for. Twenty people were critically injured. We cannot remain here."
"Noted," Rios said grimly. He tapped his combadge. "Rios to Horizon. We're ready for beam-out—tell me you've cleared that interference!"
Static hissed back, followed by Daxan's strained voice:
"Negative! Borg is flooding the pattern buffers with interference. I need at least five more minutes!"
"Five minutes?" Vega yelled, firing a burst that dropped a drone mid-stride. "We'll be drones in five minutes!"
"Then we make five minutes count," Rios said, snapping off a shot that blew a drone's arm clean off. "Form a perimeter! Keep them away from the civilians!"
The team fell back toward the shelter entrance, phasers blazing. The Borg adapted fast—green shields flaring as they shrugged off the next volley. One drone lunged for Korr, assimilation tubules snapping out like fangs.
Rios didn't think—he fired point-blank, the drone collapsing in a shower of sparks. "Stay tight! Don't let them flank us!"
Above, the sky pulsed with green light as the Borg sphere unleashed another beam. The ground trembled violently. Colonists screamed. And then, through the smoke, Rios saw something that made his blood run cold:
A Borg heavy drone—towering, armoured, its mechanical limbs bristling with cutting tools—stomping toward them like a walking nightmare.
"Big one incoming!" Vega shouted. "What the hell is that thing?!"
"Adapted ground unit," T'Lenn said, her voice still maddeningly calm. "Designed for rapid assimilation."
"Not today," Rios growled, recomposing himself. "Focus fire! Bring it down!"
The team unleashed everything they had—phasers, grenades, even a jury-rigged plasma charge from T'Lenn's kit. The heavy drone staggered, sparks flying—but it kept coming, a lifeless grey eye and a cybonitic laser burning into them like twin suns as it advanced to their location.
"Commander!" Daxan's voice crackled over comms. "Transporters are clearing! I can lock onto you in thirty seconds—if you're still alive!"
"Then make it twenty!" Rios shouted, diving as the drone's assimilation arm slammed into the ground where he'd been standing.
He rolled, came up firing, and yelled to his team: "Hold the line! Nobody gets taken!"
The heavy drone roared—a guttural, mechanical sound that vibrated through the rubble. Its assimilation arm lashed out, slicing through a shattered wall like paper. Rios dove, rolling across the ground as green sparks rained down.
"Status on transporters?!" he barked into his combadge, firing another burst that barely scorched the drone's armour.
"Pattern buffers are clear!" Daxan's voice crackled through the static. "I've got a lock—but you need to hold still for five seconds!"
"Five seconds is a lifetime down here!" Vega shouted, blasting a drone that had nearly reached the colonists.
"Do it!" Rios snapped. "Energise on my mark!"
The team tightened their perimeter, phasers blazing in a desperate storm of orange light. The Borg adapted, green shields flaring as they advanced. One colonist screamed as a drone grabbed her arm—tubules snapping out—
Rios lunged, slamming his rifle butt into the drone's face, then fired point-blank. The drone collapsed in a shower of sparks. "Now!" he roared. "Energise!"
The world erupted in green light as the heavy drone charged, its assimilation arm swinging down like a guillotine. For a heartbeat, Rios saw his reflection in its cold, mechanical eyes.
Then the transporter beam took him.