riverviewlogs | memory share: network + action; ota

Entry tags:

memory share: network + action; ota

who: Beverly Crusher and you
what: Memory Share Event
when: October 9-23
where: anywhere around the city
warnings: This is a Borg-centric post. For those who aren't canon familiar, the Borg are a race of cyborgs who add to their numbers through forced assimilation and operate on a hive mind - nothing will get too graphic though!

One evening this week, a sharp warning sound hits the network, followed by what appears to be a video announcement:

Watch on YouTube

The memory ends as abruptly as it began, but as the days go on, more memories associated with it will crop up, whether it's during the day as a first person vision or in a shared dream at night - and it will slowly become more obvious who they belong to.

a. Borg Vessel

Endless rows of half-machine, half-organic beings - The Borg - line the walls, almost coffin-like. The ship is dark and eerily silent, except for a threatening mechanical whirring sound. Four people, all dressed in similar uniforms, huddle with backs together and weapons out. Borg march down the corridor towards them as others detach themselves from their alcoves to join in the attack. All four people fire their weapons, beams of light hitting their attackers and sending them crumpling to the floor. However, the next wave of Borg throw up some sort of force field around themselves, scattering the rest of the shots harmlessly.

One of the four, a blonde Human woman and the only one wearing red, calls for help. Prepare to beam us back. The others barely seem to register her words. For there, at the end of the corridor is a familiar face - the one who called himself Locutus.

But that’s not the name that’s called out to him. “Jean-Luc!” He turns, fixing a beam of light on the group like the laser sight on a gun. The woman who called out instinctively moves towards him, her own weapon lowered, but she’s stopped, first by a hand on her arm, then by the pull of the transporter.

b. Science Lab

A young man, half machine, half bewildered teenager, stands inside some sort of scanner at the center of the room. Facing him with apprehensive expressions are a man and a woman. The teenager blinks slowly, first at the woman, then at the man. “What is your designation?” he asks him.

“Designation?”

The young man brings his hand to his chest, in order to indicate himself, prompting them with, “Third of Five.”

The woman looks at him with no small amount of wonder. This is not how she expected him to act. It pleases her, but worries her as well. “You mean our names. We don't have designations: we have names.” She gestures first to herself, then to her fellow officer. “I'm Beverly... this is Geordi.”

Third of Five considers this for a long moment before asking his next question: “Do I... have a name?”

Beverly and Geordi look at each other, both surprised. Geordi asks, “Do you want one?”

Though he remains uncertain, Third of Five is clearly intrigued by the notion. So, after some discussion, they settle on a name: Hugh. Beverly smiles with genuine warmth. Let's try this again.

“All right... I'm Beverly.” She points to Geordi. His turn.

“I'm Geordi.”

Beverly then points to Hugh, who responds, “We are Hugh.” Beverly's grin grows wider and Geordi chuckles.

c. Bridge of the Enterprise

Klaxons are sounding and there's a sense of urgency among the crew, an element of fear just under the surface of their professionalism. Beverly stands in center of everything, very clearly in command based on her stance, her tone, and the way the others defer to her. There's talk of evacuations and missing crewmates and then the man standing at the computer console behind her announces, “The Borg ship is powering up its weapons array.”

Watching the approach of the other ship on the large view screen in front of her, Beverly's next words sound almost like a prayer. “Come on, Chief. It's now or never.”

Another crewmember, a woman this time, reports, “They're preparing to fire!”

Beverly takes her seat in the captain's chair, bracing for impact. “Raise shields!”

Too late. The whole ship shakes with the ensuing explosion. The port nacelle has been hit and their warp engines are down. Running is not an option. Tense with the knowledge that the entire crew's lives are in her hands right now, Beverly nonetheless remains calm, in control of both herself and her officers. She runs through the standard options in a situation such as this: shields, evasive maneuvers, phasers. Nothing works. The Enterprise shakes again and again, their shields failing further with each hit. They are no match for the Borg, not going head to head like this. If only they had a place to hide, time to regroup - that's it!

“Helm, set a new course, heading three four four mark six. Full impulse.”

“Sir!” The crewman stares at her for a moment in disbelief. “That heading takes us directly into the sun!”

Eyes forward, hands clutching the armrests of the chair, Beverly doesn't answer. All she is right now is pure determination.

(ooc: If you want a personalized memory for your character/just not something Borg related, send me a PM to this journal or on plurk at curiouslyenough and we'll work stuff out!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Logically, Taako is aware that nothing in these dreams can hurt him, but it's still very unsettling, this creepy corridor; like an extra fucked up version of Lucas's lab. When he spots one of the Borg, he yelps, both caught off guard and a little bit freaked out by whatever is going on there.]

What the fuck is that?

[To be honest, it's a very appropriate response to the Borg. By definition, they are very unnatural looking. However, none of them pay any attention to Taako and in fact, one climbs right out of the chamber in front of him and moves as if he is going to walk right through him.]

Taako?

[Beverly - the real Beverly that is - is standing behind him. She rests a hand on his shoulder.]

Taako, relax, it's just a dream!

I'm relaxed!

[Debatable; his hackles are still up and he automatically steps out of the way of the Borg moving towards, not wanting it to walk through him even if it can't touch him.]

But seriously, what the fuck?

[He's seen a lot of messed up things, but this is up there.]

[Beverly takes him by the hand and gently pulls him out of the way of the action. More or less anyway, seeing as more Borg are arriving.]

They're the Borg. They're cybernetic organisms - organic beings fused with machines. They operate as one mind, like an ant colony.

[She looks over at Jean-Luc, assimilated into the collective as Locutus.]

And... they are the greatest threat to our existence.

[He's led easily enough, though he doesn't stop looking at the Borg, as if maybe he'll find an answer to this mess in their faces.

What Beverly says just leaves him with more questions; he doesn't get how you could fused a machine with an organic creature, but the evidence is right there in front of him.

It reminds him of the Hunger, with machinery instead of magic, but the idea of one mind operating together, taking over creatures to use them as soldiers. That's familiar.]

You know him, that dude?

"That dude" is my captain and my best friend.

[She doesn't mean to sound quite so annoyed at the descriptor, it's just... well she can't imagine anyone calling Jean-Luc "dude." Not to his face anyway.]

[Taako contributes the annoyance to the situation, the fact her best friend has been... taken over, by these machines. He never really had to face anyone he cared about, after they were consumed by the Hunger, because he made a point not to care.]

Is he-- was he okay? Can you undo this shit?

I figured out how to disconnect him from the collective, yes, and remove all physical trace of the Borg implants but...

[Because it's a dream, she can move closer to Locutus than she could back then. Not that it does her much good - his face becomes more of a blur the closer she gets. She reaches out for a moment, then lets her hand drop uselessly.]

It changed him, in a deep way that I will never quite be able to fix.

I kinda hate to say it, but I think that's just life.

[Everything leaves scars in one way or another, especially something like this, which Taako can only imagine must be pretty traumatic.]

It's not on you to fix that shit.

I know. I learned a long time ago there are things you can't ever fix.

[The memory shifts, as they are beamed away from Locutus, away from the Borg ship and back onto the bridge of the Enterprise.]

[Oddly enough, his first thought is Magnus, the stark difference of before and after Julia.

But that's a heavy conversation, and Taako is tired of heavy conversations, so he uses the change in location to latch onto something new.]

This your ship?

[She nods, clearly proud, even given the situation.]

The Enterprise. I'm only sorry you can't see it in a... less dire situation.

I've been in dire..r? More dire? Fuck it.

[It's an idle sort of comment as he starts to walk around the transporter room; Barry would be fascinated by this, so would Lup and Lucretia and Davenport. Taako thinks it's cool, sure, but he doesn't have the technical knowledge to back that up.]

This shit lets you teleport whenever? No limits?

Oh, there are definitely limits! We can't transport while in warp, for example, or if the other ship has shields raised. Certain atmospheric disturbances on planets will block it as well. And of course, it does take quite a bit of power.

That's a whole lot more impressive than shit we can do, even with teleportation circles.

[Taako hasn't ever really messed around with that kind of magic, he hasn't had much use for it.]

The dream crew moves out of the transporter room and heads for the bridge, forcing Taako and Beverly to follow along, as dream mechanics do. At least he'll get a tour of the ship while he's at it, though mostly what he's seeing are beige corridors and turbolifts. "It was a real breakthrough when the technology was perfected, though it took people a while to adjust to it, from what I understand." Now, it's so ubiquitous, she rarely gives it a second thought.

[It's so different to the Starblaster, which is really the only reference Taako has for spaceships. It reminds him more of Lucas's floating lab than anything else, though a lot tidier (Lucas is a slob).]

It must've ruined like, whole industries. Who's gonna sit on a plane for hours when you could just hop teleport?

[There aren't planes where he's from, but he watches TV]

I suppose so... This all happened centuries ago at this point, so I don't really know the details.

You better not tell Lucretia about half this shit cause she'll grill you way harder than I will.

[He's well aware that knowledge is one of Lucretia's favorite things.]

[She laughs.]

Oh, I know. But she can hardly grill me on things I don't know the answer to.

I understand why you'd think that, but she absolutely fucking will. It took her a couple years to get bored of asking me and Lup about how we used our magic.

[They're bad at answering questions, especially Taako.]