Aft Bridge Conference Room

Tiberius stood at opposite ends of the table. The disgraced prophet on the other. In the darker conference room, Corvus appeared less regal. Less stately.

The disgraced prophet had a crumpled look about him. Like a piece of paper that was balled up, then unfolded again. No longer pristine and perfect. His expression was a valley of anguish and remorse laid bare.

Whether that was for what he’d inflicted on his congregation or that he’d been found out, Tiberius didn’t know yet. He folded his arms and stared the man down. The imperiousness and impatience had melted away in silent resignation. A deflated sack of his former self.

“I’ll skip ahead of Why for now, and cut straight to How? How did you get your hands on that borg tech? Who supplied it?”

Corvus shifted in place anxiously.

“He didn’t use a name. Only referred to himself as an agent of the Shadow broker. Said they recently come across a variety of hardware. Anything we wanted or needed? He had.”

“So you pick up some stem bolts, a case of deuterium and, oh yeah, some black market borg components too?”

Corvus settled down in the chair wearily. A long sigh eased out of him.

“No. He saw our worship. Saw our praise and suggested his device as a means of bringing us closer. It was a private demonstration. No one else in the congregation knew of it. I didn’t want to risk giving them false hope.”

“Wait… they agreed to this?”

He leaned forward, head held low, and nodded.

“They thought it would bring on the ascension swifter if they united their praise and worship as one. They felt connected to the Nest in a way they never had. The more we worshipped with it active, the less they wanted to go without it.”

“But there were some who didn’t want to be a part of it?”

Corvus nodded. Gesturing to the console on the wall.

“Your distress signal wasn’t the first attempt made to leave. Most returned to us after a while. Evira was always a headstrong young woman, though. I knew if anyone sought to leave, it would be her. Is she well?”

Tib nodded.

“She is. We’ve provided her accommodations and offered to drop her off at the nearest starbase as soon as we can.”

Corvus nodded as well. He appeared pleased to know that.

“Good. She never felt at home in our community. Perhaps she’ll find peace on the next step of her journey, though.”

Tiberius laced his fingers together and leaned back in his chair, eying the prophet appraisingly. The situation had grown more difficult. He’d initially misread the prophet’s use of the device as blind ambition or greed. Knowing he’d acquired it to help facilitate the worship of their deity, however, complicated things. It was still an issue he’d dealt illegally in black market tech.

But Corvus appeared cooperative at this point.

“I have a problem. One I think you can help me out with. And you have a problem as well. One I think I can help you out with. I need to know how to reach the agent you dealt with for the Shadow Broker. Do that for me, and I’ll see what I can do to help your congregation out.”

“You’re not a member. What would you care?” Corvus asked.

Tiberius leaned back into his chair. The leather creaked softly.

“I don’t, to be perfectly honest. I couldn’t care less what or who you worship. But I do believe you have the right to worship as you see fit. Provided it’s done legally. No more borg tech. Just whatever rituals, prayers, or practices your people choose that don’t involve illegal black market technology. Your beliefs are your business—I’m only concerned with keeping things above board.”

Corvus nodded with a wounded expression.

“I should have declined the borg hardware. I only wanted my people to experience our beliefs in the best way possible. He made it sound so grand… but I could see the damaging effects it was starting to have. Evira was the wake up call I needed. I’d gone astray of the Nest.”

“It’s possible to be wrong with good intention. The question is, how do you make it right?”

Corvus glanced up. A faint flicker of hope in his defeated gaze.

“Do you think I can be forgiven?”

Tib shrugged.

“Anyone can be forgiven. But that’s not for me dispense. That depends on your people and what steps you take to repair the damage done here.”

“You’re right. I must make amends.”

Tib tapped a few keys into the small console on the table.

“We can start with the Shadow broker’s agent.”

Corvus nodded, tapping information on his side of the table.

“Of course. This is everything I know and have. Including recordings of the purchase and exchange.”

Tib saved the data and passed it on to Jel’kan. “Good. Now let’s go show your people anyone can fail. But it’s what we do when we fail that defines us.”

The pair stood and departed. The walk back to the transporter room was somber. Tib didn’t bring security with them, as he felt the situation was in hand. On the surface of the planet, a small gathering was waiting. Some angry faces. Some upset, and others just looking for answers.

“I’d like to say something before the prophet speaks. None of us are perfect. We all make mistakes. It’s part of being mortal. Of being alive. We invariably make a mistake or fail. That’s part of the human condition, but some could argue that’s what defines life itself. Your prophet made a mistake. For some of you, this mistake may have knock-on effects later. And it’s up to you all to determine what price exactly he must pay for forgiveness. It’s also not a requirement to forgive him at all, but I think you should. What he did was bad, but he did it with you all in mind. Your religion is unique in that much of it imitates the borg mindset. Ergo, the use of borg tech to bring you all closer to the Great Nest.”

He paused to let them think about that.

“I made the mistake of hastily judging the situation and in doing so, I too made a mistake. I thought the Prophet was using you. I didn’t realize he did this for your benefit.”

Tiberius glanced at Corvus and gave him an encouraging nod.

“I thought it would help us come closer to ascension if we could all think and feel as one. I only wanted our love for the Nest to bring us together. I can see how my actions may have caused division and for that I weep. I never wanted to hurt or cause harm to you. I should have checked what I was doing, and asked for permission first.”

Corvus fell to his knees.

“I am at your mercy.”

Silence fell over the crowd for a long moment. Finally, a woman broke ranks and fell to her knees, and wrapped her arms around him. She whispered her forgiveness. A man followed. Then another, then a small group, that then grew into a larger group before the whole of them embraced on their knees. Some wept, others smiled. And in a strange way, Tiberius wondered if perhaps this wasn’t the goal of their ascension, after all. To feel like a community. To share in an experience together.

Maybe good things can come from bad things after all?

He took a quiet step back and tapped his commbadge, requesting a beam back in a whisper. The sight of the colonists gathered together in arms on their knees as he dematerialized would be an image that left a lasting imprint on his mind. Definitely the feel good kind of thing you see in your sleep. He liked those kinds of memories.