2422.05

<Stardate 2422.05 - Six of Twelve - Begin Log>

We arrived at Babylon Station and spoke to an individual who was designated as Liasion between Cromwell and the officer who arrested Anara, whose designation is Lt Blunt. We do not know why a liaison was required or why we could not speak to Lt Blunt directly. We were also forbidden from seeing Anara as she was being processed. Her processing seemed inefficient. We suggested assimilating the laision but were told this would be ineffective as he did not have the data we required. We also suggested assimilating the computer system but Captain Sesgaard said that would not be required at this time. Lt Petalosa contacted an individual on New Kyushu who contacted some individuals on Campanella. The Champanellan militia responded by stationing individuals outside of Babylon's detention centre. Cromwell's away team was described by the news reporters as 'Sesgaard's dogs'. We were told this was a metaphor, but we are unsure what for.

We had an interview with one of the news reporters but much of the data she provided in her report was incorrect or incomplete. Lt Petelosa suggested that the United Federation of Planets may have been involved in Anara's arrest.

There was a series of explosions on the Phision Promenade. An alarm was activated indicating a mass-casualty event. Details are still being collected but it is our understanding that several individuals were killed and many more were damaged. Colonel MarQ said that now was the time to assimilate the data from the computer, so we injected our nanoprobes. When we did this, we found another set of Borg nanoprobes, not belonging to Six of Twelve or any of the drones aboard Cromwell. This was unusual, as we could not detect another Borg presence aboard the station. The nanoprobes appear to have been programmed to override replicator safety precautions and create the explosives that were set off across the promenade.

An unexploded bomb was found by Captain Sesgaard and Lt Commander Martis. It had Lt Commander Martis' DNA on it and was of a specification often used by the Champellan Malitia. Lt Commander Martis and One of Six deactivated the bomb.

Lt Brunt came to detain Lt Commander Martis. Captain Sesgaard said that we must not kill him, but we do not know why. He then said that we must 'make a decision ourself' so we asked Colonel MarQ but by the time we had decided that transportation would be the most appropriate solution, the problem had already been solved. Lt Commander Martis and Lt Tas (update designation to Martis Tas) got married. Brinn told us that marriage was like assimilation, when two units join into one. We assume that this is why part of the designation from one unit is shared with the other?

Lt Brunt took Lt Commander Martis to be detained. Captain Sesgaard and Colonel Reynolds went with her. Before she could be detained, the group was attacked by marines who wore the 264th Battalion uniform but did not actually belong to it and Anara was taken by an individual who we now know is designated 'Jade' and who works for Starfleet Intelligence. She was not stealing Anara, but helping her escape. Colonel Reynolds was badly damaged in the fight. Lt Commander Martis and Captain Sesgaard transported with him to Darkhorse where he was treated by Lt t'Khaell.

Meanwhile, Crewman Hazelilly and Rock Jumper-12 were helping the medics on Babylon rescue those who were injured in the explosion. After that was done, Kit sent them to supervise Cromwell's subunits, who were together in an Ice Cream Parlour. They met a new subunit designated 'Melina' who belongs to one of Cromwell's security officers along with Daniel Forest, who is Anara's child. While they were discussing what to do with Daniel, who was wanted by Babylon authorities, Neilson and Melina ran away.

Cromwell was boarded by 900 marines from Babylon. Lt Mallory took command of Cromwell and sent a message to all department heads to return to the vessel. Kit and Colonel MarQ transported all of the marines off, except those who were protected by a dampening field on the bridge. Six of Twelve tracked a Borg signal which had recently appeared to the lowest deck of the station and found a neonatal drone, Neilson, Melina and a Species 5618 individual designated 'Nobody'. Neilson said that we should detain Nobody, as he was a threat. We fired on him, but the Neonatal drone (Designation: Little One) jumped in front of the blast. Neilson, Nobody and Little One transported away. We then received a message from Colonel MarQ. He required backup as while he and Kit had transported all of the marines of Cromwell, they had also transported Colonel MarQ. We were about to engage in combat with the Marines before Captain Sesgaard transported Six of Twelve and Colonel MarQ to Darkhorse.

Crewman Hazelilly and Rock Jumper 12 found Melina while Tas accompanied Daniel, Toby and Sally to the Campanellan Embassy. Aboard Darkhorse, Captain Sesgaard explained everything that had been happening and provided commands. Jade had arrived with Anara. Darkhorse was found by Babylon security and detained. Captain Sesgaard told the crew to comply with Babylon's commands and went to speak with Admiral Hood.

Neilson was detained in a room with Little One but he escaped through a vent and deactivated the dampening field that was hiding the new location. Little One saw him but did not stop him. Nobody did not see him. Neilson gathered some information after his escape by listening to a conversation Admiral Blunt had with Nobody. Admiral Blunt was connected to the explosions and Anara's arrest. Neilson told this to Kit and Lt Greene when they transported to Babylon to Collect him. Kit took Neilson to meet with Captain Sesgaard and Admiral Hood, while Lt Greene took Four of Seven, Six of Twelve and Colonel MarQ to find Little One.

Little One was alone when we found it. It said that Nobody was not there but that the explosion they were planning would not affect Cromwell anyway. Colonel MarQ said that this data was incorrect. Little One said it would help us deactivate the explosion, provided we do not harm Nobody once he is found.

2422.02 - 2422.04

<Stardate 2422.02 - 2422.04 - Six of Twelve - Begin Log> The mission to recover a dead insect (designation: Species 10038) and the databanks from B217 was successful. Ensign Mallory has examined the Species 10038 corpse and determined a weakness in cold environments. The databanks from B217 showed the arrival of fifteen Chernov (Undesignated Species), including Lumi, one week before the Species 10038 infestation. Data from Lumi and later events suggest that the Chernov may have accidentally brought Species 10038 larvae to B217 which then grew and multiplied, causing the 10038 attack on the colony. Data from the Collective shows this was not the only colony the Chernov spread Species 10038 too. At least one other previously uninhabited colony was invested by them after several Chernov vessels escaped their homeworld. We still do not know how Species 10038 got to Sylva (the Chernov homeworld) in the first place. Ensign Mallory's DNA tests on Lumi have ruled out Species 10038 having evolved on Sylva. Cromwell experienced a powercut two days after the events on B217. We now know that the power cut was caused by Species 10038. Their eggs had been in the blue substance that the away teams had brought back and had somehow survived decontamination procedures, likely due to the resilience of the substance which appears to survive even full baryon sweeps. Shortly before the power cut, Colonel Anara Lessa returned to Cromwell through a wormhole with a temporal delay of nine years. She experienced some kind of malfunction and attempted to destroy Cromwell by setting a self-destruct sequence. The sequence was deactivated by a code from Lessa Anara's son on Babylon Station, or by Commander Martis' override program, or by the power cut. We are not sure which. Commander Martis stabbed Lessa Anara in the chest, causing her to pass out. When she awoke, the malfunction appeared to have ceased. She explained that she had believed Cromwell was a Bajoran prison camp from the Cardassian occupation. The power drain was being caused by Species 10038. They attach themselves to the power systems of vessels and drain their energy. Arrain t'Khaell was able to stabalise Lessa Anara in Engineering but had to get her to sickbay to operate. She did this by moving her on a grav-sled. Commander Martis went to the Operation offices to gather all of the extra comm badges aboard Cromwell, meaning to use their energy to jump-start the warp core. Kit and DJ Greene travelled through the Jefferies tubes to Deck 12 where the power drain had started to clear away the Species 10038 residue. Six of Twelve and Brinn found Species 10038 residue in one of the replicators in Ten Forward, which Ensign Th'Havevil and One of Six came to investigate. Colonel MarQ was stuck in a turbolift. Six of Twelve provided schematics to the bridge. He went to the bridge by climbing up the turbolift shaft. Four of Seven and Lt Tas evacuated the children. They were attacked in the Aborteum by Species 10038 larvae and then again in the Jefferies tubes. Lt Tas was burned by the Species 10038 acid spit. Four of Seven and Neilson Greene were able to stabilise him but the shuttle bay doors were sealed shut as a result of the power cut. Sally Taylor had the idea of using the cargo transporters to transport the entire shuttle out, with Tas inside, who would then use the shuttle transporters to transport the rest of their group into the shuttle. This was successful. They left for Outpost Hope One. On the bridge, Lumi used its power-generating abilities to provide a burst of energy for the intercom systems, allowing Captain Sesgaard to get a message to the rest of Cromwell. Colonel Reynolds sent the Rock Jumpers to Cromwell to assist who reported the presence of the RSE vessel S'Task in orbit of B217. Arrain N'Vek's vessel had been taken down by flying Species 10038 warriors on B217. Lt Petalosa had been about to recover the vessel but was called back as S'Task's pilots were to recover it instead. One of Six suggested that Species 10038 may have a Queen, like the Borg. Lumi had also reported hive-like tendencies from them so when Red-2 and Red-3 arrived to assist, we went to Auxillary power as this was the only substantial energy left on Cromwell that the Queen could be draining. The hypothesis proved correct. Attached to the auxiliary systems was a large Species 10038 creature producing eggs and draining auxiliary power. Standard weapons proved ineffective against it. It was able to absorb energy and adapt quickly to anything we used against it. Brinn said we must try and assimilate it. At the time, we did not understand why but we do now. To kill a Species 10038 Queen you must provide it with alternating frequencies of energy to absorb (in this case, energy banks from Darkhorse brought over by the Rockjumpers and energy from the Warpcore generated by Commander Martis' commbades and redirected by DJ Greene) then inject it with assimilation nanoprobes. This overwhelms the Queen's ability to adapt and allows conventional weaponry to kill it. Once the Queen dies, the rest of her hive becomes disoriented and easy to kill and the larvae and riders die immediately from the severance. After attempting to assimilate the Queen, Six of Twelve was thrown against a wall and knocked out. We awoke in our alcove later. Banor MarQ had put us there. Arrain t'Khaell repaired our broken leg. We were contacted by the Collective. They had sensed the partial assimilation of the Species 10038 Queen and required data on how its deactivation was achieved. Cromwell wished to negotiate with the Borg and threatened to destroy the data should any attempt be made to remove it by force. Given the need for efficiency, we accepted the proposal. A delegation of DFA units was sent to Probe 815 and Six of Twelve was chosen to speak for the Borg. Colonel MarQ spoke for the DFA. It was agreed that the DFA would use their data to produce a weapon for the Borg and test it. In exchange, the Borg would provide sufficient nanoprobes for the DFA to protect its space from Species 10038. A later exchange was made with 'Siril' for greater efficiency. The DFA produced the weapon the day after the Borg provided Siril. We tested it on S'Task. We encountered a new variant of Species 10038 aboard S'Task that shoots white blade-like appendages. The Queen aboard S'Task was of a far greater size than the one aboard Cromwell. It took the DFA projectile weapon, explosives and five drones worth of nanoprobes to kill. The DFA sent a buoy with the weapon schematics into Borg space. Probe 815 left to collect it. Six of Twelve was left on Cromwell to continue our experiment in determining why individuals resist. One of Six was also left on Cromwell as it claimed it was 'not ready' to return. We do not know what this means but as the Collective's agreement with Cromwell included not assimilating their units, it was allowed to stay. It was tasked with verifying a hypothesis for the Collective; that one of the reasons individuals resist assimilation is fear of the unknown. One of Six was tasked with explaining perfection to individuals it encounters and recording their responses. With the Queen on S'Task dead, the RSE require no more help from Cromwell. Probe 815 has also left, having left Cromwell with six containers of nanoprobes. Tas, Four of Seven and the children have returned. A Liason from the RSE designated T'Alessa has arrived on Cromwell and is currently in sickbay with Siril who is being treated by Dr Clark. Cromwell was en route to Babylon Station when we received a news broadcast. Colonel Anara had left early to meet with her child and had been arrested. Captain Sesgaard, Colonel MarQ, Commander Martis and Six of Twelve are going to Babylon now to get more information. Cromwell's crew will have at least three days 'R&R' (this stands for 'rest and relaxation') aboard Babylon. <<End Log>>

Captain's log: In addition to more mundane details logged by the captain and crew of Cromwell-B there are three elements that remain to be addressed. The First is the Borg. Our attempts to implant feelings into the collective were highly unsuccessful. I feel it is the Drone that we utilized has been too heavily damaged to grasp any of the concepts we have been trying to implant. We have potential with the second drone, but I am not overly optimistic. I would terminate the program except we have been able to gather a large amount of intelligence in the process. Continued monitoring is warranted for the time being. The second, as you are aware, is the re-emergence of Anara Lessa. There are gaps in her knowledge, but these gaps can easily be filled as history lessons. Despite reluctance expressed by Command, I feel this could be a resource to draw upon for the DFA. In an effort to speed this along, our patrol route will take us closer to Babylon sooner, and I hope we can address the matter at that time. Lastly, S'Task has gone quiet after our coordinated work with her and the Borg in relation to the Bugs. The good news is The Borg and Romulans are currently ignoring us. We have several weaponized plans moving forward to eliminate the Bugs from anyplace we find them. B217 has been quarantined until operations commence. The Third is the recovery of Siril. I have not investigated as requested, but she is aboard Cromwell.

2421.07 - 2422.01

<Stardate: 2421.07 - 2421.12.01 - Six of Twelve - Begin Log>

When we arrived at Dakkhus Station, Cromwell underwent repairs for the damage sustained during the Hope-3 Mission. The Species 10030 individuals on board Cromwell were transported to the station, so that the DFA could find a new planet for them. Colonel Reynolds returned with the Marines and a new vessel provided by the Klingons. Apparently Colonel Reynolds amused the Klingons, but he does not know how he achieved this. The new vessel was designated 'Darkhorse'. All of the marines except Major MarQ were at the celebration for Darkhorse, so Six of Twelve was sent to locate Major MarQ. We found him in Cargo Bay 2, still regenerating. He was unresponsive to our attempts at activating him, so we contacted Captain Sesgaard. Major MarQ was eventually able to communicate with us using a holographic representation of himself. He was locked in the regenerative state, trapped in the computer system. We have still not determined the cause of the malfunction, but we went on a mission to correct it. Using Six of Twelve and Major MarQ's interlink nodes, we formed a connection between us and then connected Six of Twelve directly to the marine holodeck to transmit data from Major MarQ's system. We would go into Major MarQ's system to find the cause of the problem and resolve it. The away team (Query: Is it still an 'away' team if we are technically still on Cromwell and therefore not 'away'?) consisted of Captain Sesgaard, Colonel Reynolds, Lt Greene, Ensign Kate, Petty Officer Mallory, Four of Seven and holographic transmissions of Six of Twelve and Major MarQ. Dr Clark and Lt Commander Martis monitored Major MarQ in sickbay while Lt Commander Taylor monitored the holodeck systems from Engineering. Major MarQ's system displayed itself as a hot, dry environment with molten lava and fire that was designated a 'Hellscape'. There were weapons in the environment. Six of Twelve was provided with a multi-functional adaptive weapon capable of firing projectiles, energy beams and rockets. It was efficent. If possible, we suggest recreating this device in real life, but as it was a figment of Major MarQ's mind, we do not know how. The first thing to attack us in Major MarQ's system were shadow beings. Their appearance was vague and shifted when you looked at them. They detained Ensign Kate because they believed her telepathic abilities posed a threat to Major MarQ's system. Major MarQ was able to command them to release her and they complied. The next thing to attack us was a dragon. It was a large, flying reptilian creature that breathed fire. Six of Twelve shot one of its wings, destabilising its flight pattern, but its fire breath temporarily incapacitated Six of Twelve. It burned off most of the skin on our neck. We were able to contact Major MarQ - the Major MarQ in the alcove we mean - through our interlink nodes. It was difficult. Our communication was strained and Major MarQ struggled to maintain it, but he was able to get the dragon to leave while we took cover in some caves Petty Officer Mallory had found. The holographic Major MarQ repaired the damage to Six of Twelve's neck. It healed even more quickly than our nanoprobes would have achieved in reality. Another Captain Sesgaard appeared at the entrance to the caves and told us that he was the dragon. It was very confusing. We still do not entirely understand Major MarQ's system but from what information we were able to gather, these creatures represented defence mechanisms to protect the system. They were parts of Major MarQ, but their actions were not as one. They existed in disharmony. The real Captain Sesgaard spoke to the other Captain Sesgaard about something called The Citidel. Captain Sesgaard - the real one - was also contacted by a Major MarQ that the rest of us could not see, though Six of Twelve knew, because it was processing the simulation. The Major MarQ that Captain Sesgaard saw said that we must go to the Citidel for answers. On our way to the Citidel, we encountered an entity designated 'The Enigma'. The Enigma could not be seen by the others and we could not always see it either, but it was always there. We could hear it, or sense it. We suggested assimilating the Engima, as it appeared to be the element of Major MarQ causing the disharmony but we could not catch it. Meanwhile, Major MarQ had deactivated safeties in the Marine holodeck. When we asked him about it, he did not realise he had done so or how and could not reactivate them. Ensign Kerrel, a new unit who arrived while we were in Major MarQ's system, found a solution to the problem by implementing a manual override program for the safeties that would reactivate them every five seconds, giving little time where the safeties were inactive. We were followed by more flying creatures, although these were smaller than the dragon. We do not know if they also breathed fire. We were commanded to eliminate them before there was a chance to find out. To eliminate the creatures, we had to shoot all three at the same time, so Colonel Reynolds, Six of Twelve and Lt Greene coordinated our attacks to do so. One of the creatures dodged and went for Captain Sesgaard, but Petty Officer Mallory shot it before it had a chance to land its attack. The creature landed in a pile of goo on Captain Sesgaard, but he was unharmed. We were able to make it out of the system before reaching the citadel by assimilating the enigma when it got too close to Six of Twelve. We do not know what effect this might have had on Major MarQ yet if any, but he is no longer trapped in a regenerative state. Another new unit also arrived on Cromwell. Six of Twelve met her in the shuttle bay after leaving the marine holodeck. Her designation is One of Six, Primary Adjunct of Submatrix 86 of Unimatrix 76 or Ensign Amber Rosek. She is Borg but she has been taken apart. Many of her implants were removed by the Federation when she was severed from the Collective. We set up her alcove in Cargo Bay 2, alongside the one the Federation sent us for Major MarQ. We had an award ceremony after the mission in the holodeck. Campaign ribbons for the Hope-3 mission and the Banor's Brain mission were handed out to those involved. Additionally, Dr Clark and Lt Greene received the Diplomatic Advance ribbon for their actions during the Hope-3 mission, Ensign Kerrel and Ensign Rosek received New Crewmember ribbons and Arrain N'Vek received the Creative Applications of Technology ribbon for sharing RSE technology to find Captain Sesgaard during the Hope-3 mission. DJ Greene and Dr Clark were both promoted to the rank of Lt Commander and Banor MarQ was promoted to the rank of Lt Colonel. The Christmas Program has just started. It is set on Earth, 1930s, United States of America during a period Species 5618 have designated 'The Great Depression. Colonel Reynolds is currently making 'Stone Soup' which does include stone, but from what we can tell, this is not the primary ingredient. So far, stone soup also includes potatoes, carrots, onions and bacon. <<End Log>>

<Stardate: 2421.12- Six of Twelve - Begin Log>

Colonel Reynolds made the stone soup to create harmony. It worked by causing individuals to share, each adding new ingredients to the soup. He explained to us that the children are not yet ready to function fully, even though Toby is six years old, a year older than Six of Twelve was when it was activated. It takes individual children longer to become functional units than drones and when they are grown, there is uncertainty in what they will do. They might go to the academy but there are other things they could do as well. Captain Sesgaard said that the list of possibilities is too long to provide.

Lt Commander Martis, Lt Commander Taylor, Lt Commander Greene, Colonel Reynolds, Crewman Mallory and Ensign Kerrel were sent on a mission with an individual designated 'Mudd' to retrieve Arrain t'Kheall from the Romulan Star Empire. It was the same Mudd that put the emotion chips in toys like Cuddles three years ago. He took them past the neutral zone in his ship and they met with an agent in the RSE to trade some Tethedromicabioltite for Arrain t'Kheall. They arrived back shortly before Santa Claus came to Cromwell on Christmas Eve.

Lt Commander Braun and 1337 came out of R&D for the first time in a year. Lt Commander Breun had accidentally frozen himself in cryostasis. 1337 told us what it is. It is a deactivated drone whose components are being powered by an Emergency Science Hologram. We asked if it would be possible to make more efficient use of corpses by doing this to all deactivated units but 1337 said this would not work because of 'ethics'. We shared our Christmas subroutines with 1337 on gift-giving and told it about Santa Claus. It suggested assimilating one of the caribou to find out how they fly, but Kit said we were not to do this. The Christmas program deactivated and we are on route to investigate a DFA colony that has stopped transmitting reports.

<<Stardate 2422.01 - Six of Twelve - Begin Log>>

When we arrived at the colony, which is designated 'B217', four away teams were sent down, one to each settlement. All four teams found the skeletal remains of the colonists. DNA residue (a thick blue substance that was on all of the corpses) suggested they had been attacked by an unidentified species. The DNA was more complex than any species in our database, excluding Species 8472, but it did not match Species 8472. While investigating the Main Settlement, Arrain t'Khaell found an injured quadrupedal lifeform with its tail stuck underneath a cargo container. t'Kheall freed and treated the lifeform, which turns out to be from a species called the Chernov. The Chernov do not appear in the Borg or DFA databases, but there is brief mention of them in ancient Federation records. The individual t'Khaell found is designated 'Lumi'. Lumi explained that they arrived on B217 a week ago seeking refuge on the DFA colony because their homeworld had been destroyed by giant insectoid creatures. Days after the Chernov arrival, the insects also attacked this colony, but Lumi does not know how they arrived. The insects killed the colonists, the fourteen other Chernov and the Chernov bioship. Lumi was the only survivor we found. Ensign Mallory announced contact. Team-3 had been attacked by the insectoid creatures. Shortly after, the other teams were attacked as well. Lt Commander Taylor attempted to evacuate the teams but Lt Desson reported interference which was stopping transporters from working so Colonel MarQ was called to arrange evacuation via the marine shuttles. Ensign Rosek and Ensign Kerrel were investigating the Chernov bioship when the attack happened. They were able to pull data from the Chernov computer which confirmed Lumi's timeline. Colonel MarQ dropped into the combat zone in the main colony. We had to clear a space for Lt S'Hirt to land the shuttle, as the colony was now overrun by insects. The insects proved extremely resistant to our attempts at killing them. It took several shots just to incapacitate them and the number of shots needed to kill one increased exponentially with those deactivated. They appeared to be adapting. Lt Petalosa and Arrain N'Vek used their shuttles firepower to clear a path for Ensign Rosek and Ensign Kerrel to escape the Chernov vessel. Ensign Mallory was injured by one of the insects. Teams 2 and 3 met up and made their way to the Main Colony, the marines and security officers fighting off the insects while they ran. While the others were fighting the bugs, Six of Twelve and Colonel MarQ prepared several grenades. We exploded them in the middle of the swarm, using our shield to protect us. This created a small crater clear of insects for Lt S'Hirt to land in. Lt S'Hirt's vessel was loaded with the away teams. It was loaded beyond its capacity. We had to deactivate the shield emitters to escape orbit but we did make it back to Cromwell with the shuttle intact. Twenty-five individuals have been confirmed as deactivated by the insects, ten are missing and presumed dead. A funeral was held for them after the away teams were decontaminated and treated for their injuries. We are now sending a smaller team back to the planet to attempt to recover the colony computer's databanks and bring a (dead) insect back for examination.