=/\=
Once it was clear to all of them that First's life had ended, Seven returned to the side of her crew mate, the one Captain Janeway had referred to as Harry Kim. Using the instrument she had used to evaluated First's condition after the console blew up, she examined him. Tapping the badge on her chest, she contacted Voyager. "Captain, Ensign Kim requires immediate medical transport to Sickbay."
The captain issued a command, and Harry Kim shimmered away in the same way Six of Six had. /Seven,/ the captain said. /Our scans are revealing the cube is becoming increasingly unstable. We need to get you and the children out as soon as possible./
"Acknowledged." Turning her attention to their Collective, she said, "Disconnect as many data noses which you are able to hold as quickly as possible. We will take them to Voyager with us to examine later, to see if we can find out more about what happened here. We cannot linger. Is there anything else we need to bring with us?"
Five of Six turned to Second and asked, "The freighter? Voyager's shuttle? The little ship? Should we ask the captain to take them, too?"
"We have no time to explore the freighter or the little ship now. What about Voyager's shuttle, Seven?"
"Get the data nodes. I will remind the captain about it, but I expect she has already retrieved the Delta Flyer."
They managed to pry out five of the data nodes before Captain Janeway contacted Seven again. /We need to get you out of there now, Seven. I'm transporting you directly to Sickbay for our Doctor to provide any care you need. Lieutenant Torres, initiate transport!/
Second picked up two data nodes seconds before the shimmering transporter effect surrounded him. He detected a strange sensation from his finger to his toes as his body was reduced to impulses he did not understand, but knew he wished to study. Before the cube disappeared from his sight, the last thing he saw was the lifeless body of First. If he had not put all his trust in the Borg Collective and been so stubborn about contacting them, he might be shimmering away with the rest of their Collective to begin a new life on Voyager. Instead, his body would remain here, along with the corpses of all the adult drones and the unfortunate alien freighter captain, for as long as the cube remained intact. If Captain Janeway was correct, it would not be for long.
=/\=
Once the shimmering effect dissipated, Second saw he was standing in a large chamber very different in construction from the alcoves and corridors of a Borg cube. It was one open room, filled with beds similar to the one in the cube's assimilation room, where the dead alien must still be lying. This must be what Captain Janeway called Sickbay.
At the far end he saw Ensign Kim lying on one of the beds. A female alien with the same hair color as Seven was leaning over him, listening to the instructions of a male person who didn't have much more hair on his head than Second did. He was barking his orders, presumably of a medical nature, to this female, whom he referred to as Ensign Wildman. Another light-haired female member of Voyager's crew was standing near a very small bed. Five of Six walked quickly over to the little bed and confirmed, /Six of Six is here./
Second nodded his head, relieved that she was with them. The female standing near the little bed was moving her hand back and forth, and Five informed him, /This crew person is rubbing our Six of Six's thorax. Should we allow this to continue?/
He thought back, /Is Six of Six still gasping for breath?/
/No. She seems to be breathing well. I think she likes the way this person is touching her./
/Then we should allow this to continue, as long as Six does not become distressed again./
The female rubbing Six of Six was smiling at Five. Second felt a little better about what was happening. If they were taking good care of their baby drone and Ensign Kim, he did not think they meant to do harm to the rest of their Collective.
Continuing his visual survey of Sickbay, Second noted that the person with markings on his face and the small alien they had captured on the Delta Flyer were absent. The tallest of the three was present, however. He was holding an instrument similar to the one Seven used. As he approached her, he asked her how she was doing before passing the instrument up and down her body.
"As you can see, I am well."
A few seconds later, he replied, "My medical tricorder agrees with you, Seven. Now, how about your friends here . . . "
"Our Collective," Second corrected him.
"Ah. Of course. Pardon me. Let me introduce myself. I'm Ensign Thomas E. Paris. We never had the chance to be formally introduced on board your cube. I'm usually the guy who pilots Voyager, but today the Doc's enlisted me to perform my other job. I'm also his field medic." He leaned over towards Three and Four of Six and whispered, "He likes to call me his nurse - when he isn't complaining about something he claims I'm doing wrong."
"Like First always did," said Four of Six.
"We're used to it," Three of Six added.
The pilot looked in Second's direction, with a facial expression that seemed less welcoming than when he'd first approached, until Seven stated, "This is Second. First is . . . no longer with us."
"Oh. I heard one of your . . . Collective was lost. Do you mind if I check all of you out with my tricorder? It will indicate your medical status. You won't feel a thing. I promise."
Second nodded assent, and Ensign Paris waved his device up and down each of their bodies in turn, nodding his own head and making faces that seemed to indicate he was not displeased with his findings. "You all look like you're in great shape. We'll just check my findings against our database and . . . "
Suddenly Second felt a slight vibration beneath his feet. Whatever mechanism was maintaining gravity on Voyager was operating properly, as far as Second could tell, but from the expressions on the faces of Seven and Ensign Paris, Second could guess what had caused the sensation.
"Was that a shock wave from an explosion? From our cube?"
Seven took a deep breath before answering him. "Possibly."
Second did not respond. There was little point. Captain Janeway was right to extract them from their vessel when she did, or they would have died with it.
"Are you going to check me out, too?" Ensign Paris jumped a little in surprise when Five of Six addressed him. She had materialized next to his side so suddenly, it was almost as if she had been transported there.
Holding out his device, he smiled at her and said, "That's my job today, ma'am. Just a few seconds with my tricorder here, and we'll be all finished." She remained motionless while he used his device to scan her. "Ah. Our database has lots of information about your species. And you're in great shape."
"Good. May we leave now?" Five of Six asked.
"Uh, not at the moment," Ensign Paris replied.
In Five of Six's usual, forthright way, she asked, "Why not?"
"For one thing, the captain hasn't assigned you quarters yet. And the Doctor has to complete a more thorough examination of each of you. You're doing well right now, but even my quick scan showed me that some of your implants aren't functioning the way they should. The Doc will have to decide what he needs to do for you, the way he did when Seven first came on board Voyager. While some may need to remain in your body, others probably should be removed."
"You are making us Not-Borg?" Three of Six asked.
Ensign Paris looked intently at Seven, who answered the question for him. "You aren't truly a Borg now. You are neither totally drone nor an individual, because the assimilation process was never completed. You may be healthy at this time, but you if any of your implants should become defective and fail, they can poison your body. Do not be alarmed. The ensign is correct. The Doctor performed extensive surgeries on me three years ago, when I was disconnected from the Hive. I am healthy now. He will remove only what he must."
"Are you staying here with us, Seven?" Five of Six asked, in a voice that wavered almost as much as Second's had before Seven adjusted his vocal processor.
"Except when I must regenerate or the captain calls me to my duties, I will remain here with you. I see the Doctor is finishing his examination of Ensign Kim. We should go to him and ask how he wishes to proceed before he comes to us."
"Why?" Five asked.
"Trust me, it's better if you don't know," Ensign Paris said.
Second thought he saw Seven's mouth quirk into a smile much like the one he could see on Ensign Paris's. He decided it was best to take their advice. At least they could both smile about it.
=/\=