=/\=

For many time units the two of them checked over the Borg cube's essential systems as they explored the entire vessel. As Second had perceived, the cube was hanging motionless in space, and no other drones were alive. Rather than try to keep the environment active throughout, First ordered Second to help shut down vast areas of the cube to conserve power and make it easier for them to operate the cube. First ordered Second to drag the bodies of the dead drones in critical areas into locations further away, so the smell of decomposition was not as strong in the spaces they were occupying. In between their tasks, they checked on the remaining active maturation chambers to see what was happening inside them.

Three more times, alarms sounded in the area of the maturation chambers. Three more neonatal drones were born. At the time of their expulsion from their chambers, bits of metal which had failed to attach to their bodies also splashed out with the liquid which had surrounded them before birth. First ordered Second to clean the floors while he examined each of the new drones by himself.

Now that they were out of their chambers, the duplicated ones turned out to be twins of the male gender. First proclaimed them to be Three and Four. The slightly smaller, female drone was given the designation Five. None of them had completed their indoctrination into how to be a functioning drone, either. First claimed he did have this knowledge. He organized the drones into a working Collective and provided instructions. Since he did seem to know what he was doing, Second followed First's lead. It seemed the most efficient way to assure their survival.

=/\=

Now that five operational drones were available, more tasks could be accomplished. They learned to coordinate their efforts as a Collective subvocally, through their cortical nodes. The benefit for Second was that the connection permitted the five to share information about the ship's systems quickly. They had not all been in maturation chambers for the same amount of time, and the information provided to each drone had not necessarily been given in the same order. In many situations, however, the five found it easier to speak aloud. Whichever mode of language they used, they completed their tasks with a degree of efficiency, if not as smoothly as Second's perception of the way fully adult drones did them. There were, after all, only five capable of function, on a cube that normally was operated by a thousand times more drones.

The first task was to make sure the life support systems were working as they should. The second thing they needed to do was confirm that the cube's protective shields were functioning properly. After attaining this goal, even before they tried to reestablish the cube's propulsion system, they tried to contact the Collective, requesting assistance from a greater number of drones. Working together, they sent out a message via their cortical nodes. There was no answering message to this distress call. Second took the miniature Collective to the place he had found during his first explorations of the cube. Using the equipment in this area, another message was sent out, using the cube's more powerful communication device, detailing their urgent need for assistance. The only answer was a jumble of symbols that meant nothing to any of them, even First.

/Our messages cannot have reached the Queen. We must find a way to amplify our signals,/ First told them subvocally. /We must assimilate other vessels to add to our technological and biological distinctiveness. In order to accomplish this, we must repair our propulsion and weapon systems. Second, come with me. Three, Four, and Five, continue sending out our message. Another Borg vessel may approach closer to our position and hear our call./

Second followed First to the area he said was the best place to access and repair the propulsion system. It was on the other side of the large alcove Second now thought of as the control center. Second quickly determined there was nothing wrong with the propulsion system itself. Without any living Borg to operate it, the cube had merely stopped where it was when the last command had been given, which must have been to halt the cube when the drones began to die. Once Second had commanded the cube to move again, First declared, /We have repaired our propulsion system. We must reestablish our weapon capability now./ First and Second wandered around cube for several time units, until First declared, /The weapon controls are in this location. Fix them./

At the time, they were on the other side of the space where they had "repaired" the propulsion system. Second wondered if First did have all the knowledge he claimed to possess, if he had not recognized that the "repairs" they needed to make to the weaponry were the same as they had to do to propulsion: the system simply required a living drone to tell it what to do. He watched as First punched controls and twisted dials until they detected the sound of weapons firing.

/We have repaired the weapons system. Second, activate the tractor beam. Once it is operational, we will be ready to assimilate more drones./

Second accessed the memories he had been given that had been formed by the adult drones on the cube before their deaths. They had not made any repairs to this system, either. First had discovered the way to activate the system, but that was all.

He waited for First to direct him towards the tractor beam controls. He reasoned that if the propulsion and weapons systems were both activated from here, it was likely the tractor beam function could also be operated from this location.

"What are you waiting for?" First yelled, vocally.

Replying aloud in the same manner, but calmly and reasonably, Second asked, "Where are the tractor beam controls?"

"There!" First screamed. He pointed to a console. Second did not have to step closer to it to realize it was a secondary station for the propulsion system. With First still screaming at him, Second stayed where he was and carefully examined each station in the control center. Finally, in one corner, he saw a set of controls which appeared to belong to a totally different system. He approached it and recognized this as the tractor beam station. Activating the controls, a screen lit up, similar to the first one he had encountered on the cube.

From over Second's shoulder, First demanded, "Have you fixed it yet?"

"I believe so," Second replied, as the knowledge from his brief indoctrination in his maturation chamber came to his mind. Touching the screen, he began a visual sweep of the area in which their cube was traveling. Spotting a small rocky object tumbling a short distance away, Second stroked the control screen. A green light shot out and touched the rock. Second brushed his fingers over a control next to the screen. A light flashed, and Second knew it meant an aperture in the Borg cube had opened. The green light turned into a bright beam, which guided the object towards the cube until it was inside. The flashing light changed from bright green, when Second first activated the beam, to red, when the rock was being drawn inside through the aperture, and then back to a lighter shade green. The aperture had closed.

"I have fixed the tractor beam," Second said aloud, even though he knew he had made no repairs. He found it was easier to use his mouth for communication than to continue subvocally in this situation, because he could keep thoughts such as this apart from what he was telling First.

"Good. What have you assimilated?"

"A space rock."

"A space rock? Why did you assimilate something like that!" First stormed. "It will not help us rejoin the Collective!"

"It was a test," Second answered. "Now we know the tractor beam works as it should. We will be able to capture other vessels and assimilate more drones."

First said nothing for a few moments, then ordered Second to follow him to the space in the cube where captured ships were stored.

As he walked one step behind First, Second felt strange. He recognized it as emotion. As a Borg, he should not feel anything like this. It was something individuals do: feeling emotion. He quickly recognized this emotion for what it was. He was proud of what he had accomplished.

Then he felt a second emotion. He did not have a name for this one, but it was not completely pleasant. It was clear that First did not have all the knowledge he claimed to possess. He thought that learning to operate controls of a device constituted "fixing it." If a system truly did need repair because it was damaged, how would this be accomplished? Second knew he did not possess sufficient knowledge to fix every system all by himself. It seemed even more unlikely that Three, Four, and Five would know how to do this. He hoped he was wrong, and that with their pooled knowledge, they would be able to repair any systems which required it.

Before he could see a way out of this dilemma, First ushered them into a huge metallic cavern. On the floor of this space lay a rock, so small that even if large numbers of them struck the cube at once, because of the cube's shielding, they would be unable to damage the vessel. Second felt another emotion, which he immediately recognized as relief.

"This is evidence that we have repaired the tractor beam," First announced confidently. Second chose not to contradict him, but still felt a twinge at First's use of the word "we." First's only contribution had been to yell at Second because he had not accomplished the task as quickly as he demanded - even though it was clear that First had no idea how to do this himself.

"We must return to the others," First proclaimed. Pivoting on his heel, he stalked out of the huge space. Second turned to follow, but before he took another step, an object high above his head caught his eye.

A small vessel hung on an openwork bridge which spanned one side of the cavern. It was large enough to hold a person who was the size of Second, but not much more. He was struck by how familiar the ship seemed. Symbols adorned its side. He read out loud: "Transport 147-A-Brunal." Why was he able to interpret this inscription so easily, when Borg alphanumeric symbols were still so difficult for him to understand?

He was not given time to ponder the question further, as First called out, in an annoyed tone of voice, "Why aren't you following me?"

Second chose to remain silent as he complied with First's order and resumed his path towards First. He had no explanation for what he'd just seen and been able to do. Although First stared at him intently and looked like he wanted to question him further, he said nothing more, either. Once Second reached his position, First turned around and led the way back to the others.

=/\=