Claxon in the Void

Posted on Sat Mar 21st, 2026 @ 11:18am by Commander Rin & Commodore Phoenix Lalor-Richardson

Mission: Interlude
Location: Rin's Office
1700 words - 3.4 OF Standard Post Measure

*ping*

Rin's winced, It wasn't a large gesture, just a momentary twitch of her eyes, a subconscious reaction to a tiny alarm in her head. It happened from time to time, a diagnostic giving a false positive or a momentary glitch in a system. No different than a stray thought or a sudden worry that you had left the stove on, even if you haven't cooked in three days.

*ping*

It was louder this time, just a bit, with more clarity. Describing it like a sound was not a great comparison. It was a thing she sensed, a signal in her head. This time she more consciously noted it and frowned. Then she returned to her current task, mundane work that kept the department running.

*ping*

A third one, louder. and clearer.

A welcome. A warning.

She swiped at her console to lock away her work, then ran her fingers along the display, pulling up sensor data, breaking it up into its component parts, trying to detect what her brain insisted was there. He brain could be wrong. She desperately wanted it to be wrong. Her hardware was not without fault.

They were 13 million light years from home. This was an impossible signal.

*ping*

The blood had drained from her face. Her pulse raced as her chest tightened. Finally, she gasped, realizing she had been holding breath.

She was going to be humiliated if she was wrong.

But she wasn't wrong. She wasn't panicking for no reason. Her growing panic absolutely had reason.

She slapped her badge. "Rin to Security."

--/\--Security here. --/\--

"Have you, by chance, picked up any sort of anomaly on internal scans?"

A pause.

*ping*

--/\--No ma'am. Is there something I should be looking for? --/\--

Rin tried to keep her voice level, for it to not crack as air passed over tight vocal cords. "No, just...double checking something. Can you run an internal sensor sweep?"

--/\--I'll need to run it by Commander Reece. What should we be scanning for?--/\--

What indeed? She doubted the signal was on board. It seemed distant. But she couldn't take a chance and leave any stone unturned. "Anything organic that isn't us. I'll clarify with the Commander later."

--/\--Yes, ma'am.--/\--

*ping*

With another swipe of her hand, she closed down her console entirely. Her office door barely opened in time for her to bolt through it. Not quite a jog, but she was definitely someone with a mission. Her people noticed as she swept by them, climbing the stairs to the bridge. She never paused as she approached the Commodore, sitting in the command chair.

Rin leaned over so only Phoenix could hear. "I need to speak with you privately, and immediately, ma'am."

The commodore looked up. It was rare that her chief of Intelligence sounded so urgent. "My ready Room" She said briskly standing up. "Lead on Commander"

Rin quickly made her way to the ready room. This wasn't something to drop on the bridge crew, just as she wasn't ready to drop it on Security. Start at the top with the commodore. Plan from there.

"I'm picking up a signal," Rin said. She really, really didn't want to say it. Because saying it would somehow make it more true. "It's Borg. Ma'am."

She took a breath.

"I can have Dr. Sthilg run further diagnostics, but my systems say it's the Borg. They're in Circinus. I don't know where. It's faint. I don't think it's anything on board, but I've had Security start scanning for unexpected lifeforms. I haven't given them more parameters than that. I wanted to bring this to you first, before we start using that word."

Shortly after the accident, Rin had asked Gary that if she should die in Circinus, he would destroy her remains. She was - or at least thought she was - the only sample of Borg nanites in the entire galaxy, and she wasn't going to risk spreading any degree of contamination. But apparently it didn't matter. The gesture was...futile.

Borg. It was not a word Phoenix used, and Rin aside her last encounter with the Borg had been one of Sharr's stupid exercises that had gone wrong when real Borg had boarded the Elysium. After they had rescued the Admiral and she had told him he was stupid for running such a test, she had not had any run-ins. And she wanted very little to do with the main Borg. "Well, that is just peachy." She got out. "Ok... You are the expert. So, your suggestion on how we proceed?"

Yes, focus on work. Make a plan. Rin could do that. Just as long as she could keep her voice from quivering.

"Inform Captain Taylor, of course. Inform Commander Reece so he can tailor internal scans, although far more valuable will be exterior scans. Bridge crew. I get double checked by Medical. Inform Colonel Azhul so she can make appropriate preparations for the Marines. Other department heads as appropriate. I have Avalon analyzing what little data I can..."

Rin paused. Things were quiet.

"The signal's gone." She frowned. "I like that even less."

Phoenix gently took Rin's arm and made her sit down. "Sit Rin." She said gently. "I will put your ideas into practice. You sit and breathe for a moment."

Rin did so. She had always assumed she would come face to face with them again. She thought she'd be ok with that. They're an enemy to fight, no more, no less. She'd be able to look them in the eye and proudly tell them to fuck off, that absolutely no wart of her belonged to the Collective. But she was not ok. Nowhere close to OK. Probably because it was here. This was supposed to be the one place they wouldn't encounter them.

"If they've somehow managed to exponentially expand the transwarp conduit system, we could theoretically use it to get home." Rin said.

Phoenix nodded and handed Rin a glass of water. "Well lets see what we find first. They could be another victim of the Thaelea."

"I think if the Thaelea had the ability to capture Borg we'd know it," Rin said as she accepted the water. "On a positive note, Teevs is unaware of anything resembling the Borg. The topic came up regarding my implants. Nor have I seen anything in the Ajanie records, although I haven't specifically looked for it. So maybe recent, maybe small, maybe tucked away because they're recovering from something, or hiding from something...there are things that can take out Borg."

She growled in frustration and took a drink. "Too many options."

"There always are." Phoenix said softly. "We can plan for what we know and prepare for surprise. And if we find the Borg, maybe we can get more answers. And if there is no Borg and its someone making a prank? I will deal with them personally."

Finally it clicked. Rin realized why her head was so clouded and confused.

"I am really angry," she said, then realized that sentence didn't communicate her point at all. "I mean more angry than I've ever been. I mean ever."

Nope, that probably still wasn't getting her point across. "I mean my brain doesn't do this. Some scared, some anger, but not like this. My systems wouldn't let me. This is the most emotional I've been ever, and I...uh...don't know how to deal with it. There is so much in my head right now, and my brain is craving it, and that's really not helpful at this moment. I think I maybe want to...break things? And I don't know why that would make me feel better, but definitely we don't have time for that, and I can't do my job like this."

She wiped at her yes, and her hand came away wet with tears. She just stared at it. "And I don't cry. I mean in 18 years, I haven't cried."

"Rin. What happened to you was traumatic and something I could not even imagine. You are allowed to feel anger, fear, hatred and much more. It is fully okay to panic, get scared, to have emotions." Phoenix said gently. "No one expects you to... what was the old phrase.. keep calm and carry on?"

"I know feelings are ok." Rin found Phoenix's comment condescending. Did the Commodore even understand what she was trying to say? It would be reasonable if she didn't; Rin knew she wasn't expressing herself well. "I don't think anyone wants me to swallow them. I'm saying I've never felt what I'm feeling right now. I have been literally incapable, and I don't know how to deal with it."

And Phoenix was no counselor. "Might I suggest you reach out to Alicia?" She suggested. "She may have some tools to help you." Her tone was gentle and not accusing. "Her support is pretty good."

"Yes, ma'am, I'll do that," Rin snapped. She had been speaking to counsellors for years. She knew how they work. And they did work. She wasn't an idiot. But this seemed a singularly bad time to book an appointment. The Commodore just wasn't getting it, and Rin doubted she could express herself more clearly.

Feelings were hard. Expressing them was even harder.

*ping*

"Avalon, have you been able to analyze that signal?"

"Negative. Minimum data not available."

Rin wiped her face again and ended up with a handful of snot. Ugh. Crying is gross.

"Pardon, ma'am, but I need a towel. And then I'd really appreciate it if you had something for me to do."

Phoenix pushed a box of tissues to Rin. "Very well, you can return to duty if you feel up to it. Keep scanning for where that signal came from and monitor all outgoing communications just in case."

Rin made an attempt to clean up, taking those few seconds to try and get her emotions under control. Now she could add embarrassed to the pile of unhelpful feelings going on. "Yes, ma'am."

*ping*