Ensign Vesela Pace - Vesela and the Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Borg Day
C Souers
((Ship’s Library, Deck 4, USS Gorkon))
Starfleet. There was nothing like it. She had graduated from the Academy and proved her grandmother wrong. She truly felt like she belonged here, among the stars with others just as curious as her.
The Gorkon had been everything she’d dreamed of and more, the science labs were absolutely out of this world, and the lounges were all so different in the best possible way. She’d already begun settling herself into her quarters and making herself at home. Putting a family photo here, a handmade tapestry there.
Their mission wasn’t easy. Chasing after a Starfleet Commodore wasn’t usually run of the mill, but Vesela was prepared to help however she could.
The Library had quickly become one of her favorite places, but she couldn’t help but shift her weight uncomfortably now. New Cyndriel had just faded from vibrant blue to a distinct, sickly green.
oO It can’t be… a Starfleet Commodore would not do this - could not do this! Oo
Tahna: It’s… it’s Borg.
The Gorkon’s gravity felt much heavier than it did a few moments ago. Her lungs struggled to pull air in at a normal rate and she wondered if collapsing to the floor was acceptable at this moment. She decided not to do that on her first day and settled for gripping her crutches until her knuckles were white.
Dahlquist: The Borg? But… ::falling silent looking out of the window again:: what has he done?
Finch: No. It can’t be… can it?
zh’Tisav: ::Softly:: By the gods, no…
If this world was changed, how many more? What had he done? Why had he done it? Why would any Starfleet officer choose a universe where the Borg were in charge?
What about her family? She was off galavanting through the stars and already she had let them down.
oO No. Absolutely not. I have not let them down, this can be fixed, this has to be fixed. Oo
Dahlquist: I don’t understand it. Why are we not affected?
Finch: Maybe we have been affected and we just don’t know it yet.
zh’Tisav: How would we know we were changed if we were?
Tahna: Everything else changed so quickly, if the Gorkon was on the event horizon, we must have been shielded by whatever changes Johnson made.
Dahlquist: Response.
Finch: My god. The planet… all those people on it.
zh’Tisav: Never mind this planet. What about the rest, or did you think this was isolated? Our families…
Vesela watched her department head with a pit in her stomach much deeper than she ever thought possible. After scouring the console for a few heartbeats, Vesela watched in horror as she shook her head sadly toward their Chief Engineer.
oO Honored Deities, it really is just us isn’t it? Oo
Dahlquist: Response
Finch: I’ve only ever read about this sort of thing before. ::Blinking quickly, she unclipped a tricorder from her belt and instantly ran a scan of the library.:: The bending and rippling of space like that, has half a dozen different explanations, and not one of them good.
Dahlquist: Response
zh’Tisav: How have they not noticed we’re here…?
Tahna: We’re one ship, we’re like ants to them.
Dahlquist / Finch: Response
zh’Tisav: What do we do? We’re in orbit of a Borg stronghold after all.
oO We might even exist in a Borg stronghold now. Oo
Dahlquist / Finch: Response
Tahna: They’re unlikely to go after a single ship unprovoked. So we survive, look out for each other… and then we fix this. ::She raised her chin, infusing her voice with a practiced dose of confidence.:: We will find a way to fix this.
Vesela felt her grip on her crutches loosen, and gravity seemed to weigh a bit less now. They would fix this. That’s what Starfleet does. We help and we fix, and when we have a little downtime, we explore.
Dahlquist / Finch / zh’Tisav: Response
Vesela’s throat tightened at the sight of her department head’s eyes meeting hers. She tried to take a deep breath as she approached her, but knew it was a shaky breath instead of a calm one.
Tahna: Ensign Pace, welcome aboard. ::She offered a handshake.:: Lieutenant Commander Tahna Meru.
Vesela found it hard to stay nervous. Lieutenant Commander Tahna’s presence was grounding, and she released her crutch to shake hands.
Pace: Thank you, sir. ::She placed her hand back on her crutch and opened her mouth as if to say something, but then closed it.::
Tahna: I’m sure this is not how you expected your first day to go.
She smiled without her eyes, which Vesela noticed. It was only normal, in these anything-but-normal circumstances.
Pace: You could definitely say that, sir. I can’t deny I was hoping for a nice, pretty nebula rather than…
Maybe her attempt at lightening the mood hadn’t turned out quite as she planned.
Tahna: The Gorkon is a great ship, with an even better crew. ::She nodded toward the others, further into the library.:: You're part of this crew now, too. If anyone can fix this, we can.
The gravity was finally beginning to return to normal for her. She looked at the faces of her fellow crew members and nodded.
Pace: Aye, sir. Looking forward to fixing this. Together.
Starfleet. There really was nothing like it. They were Starfleet now.
—
Ensign Vesela Pace
Science Officer
USS Gorkon
G240106VP4