"Voyager is ready to transport you over," Dylan stated.
"Have my molecules scattered, pulled across the void of space, and re-assembled on another ship?" Tyr asked coldly, "No thank you."
"Come on. Voyager's transporters are a lot safer than a shuttle," Harper responded.
"Travel however you want, boy," Tyr turned back to Dylan, "I want a drop pod."
"A drop pod?" Dylan echoed, "They aren't going to shoot at you."
"I'm not going to take that for granted," The Neitzchian answered, "Just because the Enterprise helped us, doesn't mean these people will."
"Fine, but I only keep one drop pod on the Maru," Dylan said, "If there's a problem, you're beaming back."
Tyr looked at Dylan disparagingly, "I'll take care of the pod."
***
Janeway, Chakotay, and Tuvok stood in the transporter room as the young man's voice came over the com, "Energize."
After a few seconds, two figures appeared on the transporter pad. As they took shape, the officers of Voyager were amazed by the image before them.
"I suppose he's one of your crew," Janeway nodded toward the man at the front of the group.
"Kathy!" Q exclaimed, and ran up to give her a friendly embrace.
"Q!" Harper shouted, "Not now."
"Oh relax, Seamus," Q turned, "I'm not going to ruin your precious little diplomatic mission. I just wanted to drop by and say 'hello' to the old gang on Voyager."
"We are not your 'gang'" Tuvok responded.
"Vulcans," Q shook his head.
"You've said hello," Janeway said, "Is that all you wanted?"
"I'm not done yet. How many people did you say were on the ship? I've only talked to four of you so far," Q waved at the transporter engineer, who waved back awkwardly.
"Fine, say hello to whoever you want," Chakotay said.
"Why thank you for giving me permission," Q mocked, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I want to catch Vorik before he goes off duty."
Suddenly, the red alert klaxons began to go off, "Warning: Warp core breach in thirty seconds."
"Just kidding," Q snapped his fingers, and the alarms silenced as he left the room.
"I take it you've met Q," Captain Janeway turned to Harper.
"Yeah," Harper responded, "He dropped in a few days ago when the Borg arrived. I don't think he's been causing any real trouble, though."
***
Tyr felt the temperature of the room increase just slightly, then a familiar scent reached his nostriles. He turned from his work on the drop pod to speak with his fellow crewman.
"Tyr, I'm glad I caught you," Rev said.
"What is it?" Tyr asked, his voice already sounding annoyed by the interruption.
"I wanted to ask you a philosophical question."
Tyr became curious at this, "I'm listening."
"If you were in my place, what would you do?" Rev asked, "I mean, if you were a Magog with my hunger, and you had access to the ship, would you betray the crew?"
"If I were a Magog, and I had the crew's trust, I could easily overpower the rest of the ship," Tyr responded, "Why do you ask?"
"Curiosity," Rev answered simply, "How would you do it?"
"The first step would be to plant explosives in vital parts of the ship to disable the AI. I'd set them by remote, and wait. Then, I'd find an excuse to get the captain alone in the food storage center. At that moment, I'd ignite the explosives, and paralyze the captain with venom. I'd infest his body, and use my progeny to help get rid of the rest of the crew. The food stores would allow them to grow quickly. When they were mature, we'd take care of Beka, then Trance, followed by Harper. Without leadership, they would be easy targets. That leaves the Neitzchian. He'd be a threat, but against an army of Magog, even a Neitzchian could be beaten."
"Why don't you try to take over the ship as you are?" Rev persisted.
"I could take out Dylan and the AI, and I could handle most of the crew, if I did it quickly enough, but you would be too dangerous to fight alone."
"I've taken a vow..." Rev began.
"You're a Wayist. As such, your mind is clearer and more focused than most Magog, because you've mastered your hunger rather than allowing it to control you. That makes you more dangerous, not less. And, I don't doubt that you'd kill a traitor to protect innocent lives."
"You've thought about this before," Rev observed.
"I've thought about many things," Tyr answered, "If I don't consider every contingency, I could be caught off guard. If you did try to take over the ship, I'd wouldn't be able to rely on the rest of the crew to stop you."
"I would never hurt a member of the crew," Rev looked offended, "The Way..."
"I know you're a pacifist," Tyr cut him off, "But anything could happen."
Rev looked away for a moment, "I understand."
Tyr turned back to his work, which told Rev that the conversation was over.
"May the divine guide you. Goodbye."
Tyr grunted, but didn't say anything in response.
***
"Hey, nice to meet you," Harper couldn't help but survey Seven's well-toned body.
"Your method of delaying the Borg was admirable," Seven responded, "I know of only a few individuals with such intimate knowledge of the collective."
"It's just a trick I saw on TV," Harper explained.
"TV?" Seven asked.
"Television," Harper answered, "It's an ancient form of entertainment."
"I see," Seven spoke curtly, "How do you wish to begin?"
"I usually start from the top, babe," Harper smiled.
Seven looked as though the engineer had fallen far short of her expectations, "I will show you the relevant information in Voyager's databanks. I will also require any information you have aboard your vessel."
"Sorry, but the Borg got most of our info. We don't usually use the Maru anymore. Andromeda, the one that was attacking us a couple of hours ago, is our ship."
"That is unfortunate," Seven led Harper over to one of the science stations, "Why did your security officer not transport with you?"
"Tyr hates transporters," Harper answered, "He's bringing a drop pod over."
"An inefficient mode of transportation," Seven said disdainfully, "I will be in astrometrics, updating the database with the star configuration of our current galaxy. If you require any additional assistance, you can speak with Ensign Brin. He has been assigned to bridge station four."
"Thanks," Harper responded, watching as Seven walked off the bridge.
After glancing around for a moment, and taking in the site of Voyager's bridge, Harper set to work, "Computer, search for any references to Andromeda, Seamus Harper, Beka Valentine, Tyr Anasazi, Rev Bem, Trance Gemini, and Dylan Hunt."
"Five references found," The female voice answered promptly.
"List by type," Harper ordered.
"One astronomical entry for the Andromeda Galaxy, one starship data listing for USS Andromeda NCC 1802, one biographical data listing for Seamus Harper, one biographical data listing for Beka Valentine, one biographical data listing for Tyr Anasazi, and one biographical data listing for Dylan Hunt."
A chill ran down Harper's spine as he heard the names read, "Display entry for USS Andromeda."
"USS Andromeda NCC 18020:
Class - Prometheus
Commanding Officer - Cpt. Asardi Veresal
Executive Officer - Cmdr. Franklin Pierce
Additional Information - Technical data, ship history, officer listing, and standing mission specifications."
"Display entry for Seamus Harper."
"Harper, Seamus:
Seamus Harper was born on the lunar colony in the Sol system. He initally attended Lerene University on Gedre Six, but soon transferred to starfleet academy on Earth. He attended both institutions sporadically, until the date of his graduation at the age of 25. He went on to become the chief lab assistant of Dr. Leah Brahms, where his theories earned him recognition second only to Dr. Brahms herself. Currently, Mr. Harper is working as an instructor at Beshani University on Risa, where he is also attempting to earn his Ph. D."
'Risa,' Harper thought, 'Always thought I'd end up there, or Rura Penthe.'
Harper looked around again to make sure no one had seen what he was doing, "Show entry for Beka Valentine."
"Valentine, Rebecca:
Rebecca Valentine, a human from the Rederri Colony on the edge of Ferengi space, gave up official citizenship in the Federation so that she could take full ownership of a Ferengi Marauder. Her notable achievements include the successful navigation of the Kessedri trade route, a feat once thought to be impossible for a human pilot, and the recovery of a sacred Klingon artifact known as the Rune of K'Tria."
"Show the entry for Dylan Hunt."
"Hunt, Dylan:
Dylan Hunt was awarded the Federation Council Medal of Honor while still in Starfleet Academy for narrowly averting a warp core breach that nearly destroyed a training vessel just moments after the senior officers were killed by a shipwide EPS failure. Upon graduation, he was assigned to the Vigilance. He moved quickly through the ranks, attaining several medals and commendations along the way. Eventually, he was given command of an Ambassador class starship, USS Protector. His starship fought at the battle of Wolf 359, where it was captured. According to eyewitnesses, the Protector attempted to ram the Borg Cube in an attempt to buy time for the crew of that ship, along with the crew of the USS Zenith, to escape. The maneuver resulted in the capture of the Protector, and Captain Hunt has been pronounced a casualty of the Borg invasion."
Harper shook his head. He doubted that he could imagine a fate much worse than the living death of being a Borg drone, "Show the bio for Tyr."
"Anasazi, Tyr:
Tyr Anasazi was born on a disputed Federation outpost that is now in Cardassian territory. When the area was turned over to Cardassian rule, the outpost was dismantled. He led most of the civilians and several crewmen from the outpost to join the Maquis. His current whereabouts are unknown."
"Computer," Harper asked, "How many biographical entries does the database have?"
"This starship carries data on 81,523,047,249,196 life forms. Information on approximately three quadrillion additional life forms are available in the Federation library computer cores located on Andor, Betazed, Earth, and Vulcan."
"Computer, display all records reguarding known Borg behavior and technology."
"Five thousand, six hundred twenty-four records found."
Harper took a deep breath. He had a lot of reading ahead of him.
***
'No transwarp conduit detected. Engaging Type I transwarp drive; ETA 31 hours. Primary Objective: Assimilate home planet of species 10138. Tactical stregths: High-Yield warheads, AP Cannons, Nova Bombs, Lancer Corps, nanotechnology, advanced computational technologies. Tactical weaknesses: Lacks energy weapons, lacks energy shielding, lacks transporter technology. Adaptations selected: Transport to capital ships for assimilation, use interdiction field to prevent launch of additional ships, use class four subspace shockwave to eliminate all fighters, employ all EM countermeasures.'
***
Neelix placed the ladel back on the hook. He wished that Voyager had some Talaxian cookware, but the human conventions served his needs well enough.
Humans. Neelix continued to work as he considered the powerful influence they had exerted on the Federation. He had seen images of Vulcan architecture in the ship's archives, and that hardly reminded him of the ship. Vulcan buildings were often adorned with sandy browns and stone. The polished metal appearance of Voyager very strongly resembled buildings of the earth in the late 22nd century.... Or was it the 23rd? The interior lighting almost earily resembled human flouresent lighting.
Why? Humans were a wonderful species, certainly, but the Federation had plenty of other species to emulate. Humans do procreate a lot... maybe number had something to do with it? Starfleet command was on earth, probably because of the scenery. Maybe that was it?
Ah! The kedrian soup was ready. Neelix put thoughts of architecture and politics out of his mind as he went to serve his latest discovery from the ship's database.
"How's the Mogria pie, Tom?"
"Fine," Lt. Paris crunched a piece of the filling, "What's in it?"
Neelix paused, "It's a... small, terrestrial animal."
Tom stopped, "What kind of animal?"
Neelix looked a bit nervous, "I believe the technical name is... Cedrian Slime Beetle."
The navigator swallowed hard, "Nice choice."
Neelix poured a bit of the soup into a bowl and turned, "Here, try this."
Tuvok sighed, and tasted the thick material, "Adequate, as always, Mr. Neelix."
"Glad to hear it," Neelix practically beamed, "If you'll excuse me, Vorik lookes a little upset. As ship's morale officer, I had better go take care of it."
Neelix hussled off, and the two officers resumed their conversation. Like most of the crew, they had been working almost non-stop to find some way of dealing with the Borg threat. Thus far, almost nothing had been accomplished.
***
Captain Janeway ordered a second mug of hot coffee from the replicator. She hadn't been sleeping well. The Probe's databanks indicated that Cubes carry generators for the inter-dimensional vortices. If they could get ahold of that generator, they could go home at any time, and the Federation would be able to explore places that they hadn't even dreamed of. Unfortunately, stealing technology from a Cube was about the most difficult mission she could imagine. Still there had to be a way...
The door chimed, and Janeway opened the door. Commander Chakotay arrived, carrying a data pad, "Andromeda's security officer just arrived. I thought you'd want to know."
"Thanks," The Captain responded, "What's that?"
Chakotay glanced down at the pad, and handed it to Janeway, "This is a list of equipment that Andromeda's engineer ased for. I was about to head down to engineering when I found out that the shuttle from the Maru was being brought aboard."
Janeway began to read the list, "Nadion emitter, heisenburg compensator, a warp coil! What does he need all this for?"
"He said he needs to study it as part of his research."
"You weren't thinking of giving him all this, were you?"
Chakotay shook his head, "No, but I did want to have B'Elenna and Seven take a look at this list."
Janeway looked over the list again, "He's got a pretty good selection from our technology here. Some of these parts are used in the phaser banks, others are from the transporters, some are from the sensor array... I'd like to know how he found out about some of these things."
"So would I," The Commander responded, "We scanned the Maru, and it doesn't have anything even resembling a phaser, and from what we got from the Andromeda, it doesn't look like that ship has them either. If they knew how to make phasers, the ships would probably benefit from having them."
"Are you saying we're dealing with some kind of spy?" Janeway asked.
"A spy wouldn't be this careless, but he knows more than he's telling us. I want to have an armed escort with him at all times. Telsia is a Betazoid, isn't she?"
"Half Betazoid, half Vulcan," Janeway didn't have any trouble remembering that combination.
"I think I'll assign her and Foster to look after our guests."
***
"Rommie, I want you to..." Dylan paused, hearing a slight noise coming from the avatar, "Rommie, are you crying?"
"No, I'm fine," Rommie took a breath and turned, "What do you need?"
"Rommie, it's all right. I know this must be hard for you."
"It's just another mission. As long as my core personality is saved, my ship self can be rebuilt," Rommie answered.
"You don't have to do this," Dylan stepped closer, but Rommie suddenly became angry.
"I told you, I'm fine. Now, please let me get to work."
Dylan didn't know how to respond, "Rommie, what is going on? Since when can't you talk to me?"
"It isn't you," Tears started to come to Rommie's eyes, and she embraced Dylan, "I couldn't... stop them. I tried to kill you, and I couldn't do anything about it. And you..."
"... What did I do? I didn't want to use a Nova Bomb, but if destroying the ship is the only way to save you..."
"I know, but... I'm out there trying to kill my crew... trying to kill you. Dylan, promise you'll do anything to stop me. I... don't want to be responsible...."
"Rommie, that isn't you out there, and none of this is your fault."
"But, I can still hear her. I can't understand it anymore, but I know those are my thoughts mixed in with the rest of the Borg. My mind is still alive in there, and I'm helping them. How can they make me do this? What if, deep down..."
"Stop, it isn't you. It may sound like you, it may look like you, but inside it isn't you."
"Why are you so sure? It's my body, and even I'm not sure anymore..."
"I'll tell you why I'm sure. Rommie, you're the only reason that I'm still alive. You've been beside me through everything. When the crew died, you grieved with me. Whenever I make a decision, you're always behind me. You're asking me if you could hurt us, and I know you wouldn't. I know you're loyal to me, and I'll always be loyal to you. Never doubt that."
Rommie moved back slightly to look into Dylan's face. She smiled for a moment, and put her head on his shoulder. There was nothing left to say.
***
"If we could get Seven aboard the Cube, she could download what we need from the collective," Harper suggested.
"What, exactly, do we require?" Seven asked.
"For one thing, I'd like to know why the Borg are advancing so fast."
"The reason is obvious. Initially, the ultimate method of superluminal travel for the Borg was transwarp. That mode of transportation is too slow for efficient intergalactic travel. For that reason, they had to farm the galaxy, only asssimilating enough to remain stronger than other known races. Once a species discovered a drive system that would allow intergalactic travel, the Borg would be able to assimilate the rest of their initial galaxy and move on to the next. Now that the Borg have drive systems that allow both intergalactic and interuniversal travel, there is no need for them to wait and assimilate only what they need. They can capture everything that they discover."
"What about their defensive network?" Tyr asked, "Knowing the location of their ships and facilities would be a great asset."
"And we should find out which technologies they've picked up."
"I will not have access to that much information," Seven stated.
"I could get through their security..." Harper trailed off.
"Without nanoprobes in your system, it would be impossible for you to gain direct access to the collective."
"...Unless we had a Vulcan. He could be a mind bridge, and let me hook up to the collective through you."
"You have demonstrated that you know a great deal about our technology and xenobiology. However, we have no records of contact with your people. How do you explain this?"
"I'll explain later. We've got to..."
"You will explain now."
"Do you want our help or not?" Tyr demanded.
"We do not, unless you tell us how you have gathered so much information about us. You could not possibly have learned so much in the time that you have been here."
"We'll see what your captain has to say about this," Tyr walked over to a console on the wall, "Tyr Anasazi to Captain Janeway."
The console beeped, "Janeway here. Is there a problem?"
"Your former drone is overly curious about us. I am tempted to terminate this partnership, and look for a way to stop the Borg on our own."
"If you value your privacy that much, we won't press you. We both have bigger concerns at the moment, and I intend to get through this."
"I'm glad we've come to an agreement, Tyr out."
Seven's eyes seemed to bore through Tyr, "Very well. I will suggest your plan to the Captain."
***
"I think we should increase our surveillance, and monitor their computer access," Chakotay suggested, "They're obviously hiding something."
"Telsia has confirmed that hypothesis," Tuvok stated, "She sensed both secrecy and deception from them."
"Greater surveillance may not be needed," Seven responded, "The engineer wishes to create a direct connection to the Borg collective by mind melding with me as I access their computers. Essentially, he would be using my mind as a conduit."
"This is getting rediculous," Janeway shook her head, "How does he know about mind melds?"
"I believe the mind meld would give us an opportunity to answer many of these questions," Seven reminded her.
"I'm not going to let a member of my crew mind meld with a person who's been lying to us from the start."
"I must concur with Seven's appraisal of the situation," Tuvok said, "However, you could require him to mind meld with me before we conduct the away mission aboard the Cube. That would allow us to monitor the mind meld in a controlled environment. We could learn what we wish to know, and if anything suspicious occurs, they could be arrested."
"What are our alternatives?" Janeway looked around the table.
"We're running out of options, fast," B'Elenna answered, "The Borg are growing more quickly than anything we've ever seen. We wouldn't last a minute in ship-to-ship combat. If we don't do something now, the Federation could be gone by the time we get back."
"Alright, we'll have the mind meld in sickbay at 0900," Janeway ordered, "If everything checks out, we'll use the Borg probe to get Seven, Tuvok, and Harper over to the nearest Borg vessel. Dismissed."
"Have my molecules scattered, pulled across the void of space, and re-assembled on another ship?" Tyr asked coldly, "No thank you."
"Come on. Voyager's transporters are a lot safer than a shuttle," Harper responded.
"Travel however you want, boy," Tyr turned back to Dylan, "I want a drop pod."
"A drop pod?" Dylan echoed, "They aren't going to shoot at you."
"I'm not going to take that for granted," The Neitzchian answered, "Just because the Enterprise helped us, doesn't mean these people will."
"Fine, but I only keep one drop pod on the Maru," Dylan said, "If there's a problem, you're beaming back."
Tyr looked at Dylan disparagingly, "I'll take care of the pod."
***
Janeway, Chakotay, and Tuvok stood in the transporter room as the young man's voice came over the com, "Energize."
After a few seconds, two figures appeared on the transporter pad. As they took shape, the officers of Voyager were amazed by the image before them.
"I suppose he's one of your crew," Janeway nodded toward the man at the front of the group.
"Kathy!" Q exclaimed, and ran up to give her a friendly embrace.
"Q!" Harper shouted, "Not now."
"Oh relax, Seamus," Q turned, "I'm not going to ruin your precious little diplomatic mission. I just wanted to drop by and say 'hello' to the old gang on Voyager."
"We are not your 'gang'" Tuvok responded.
"Vulcans," Q shook his head.
"You've said hello," Janeway said, "Is that all you wanted?"
"I'm not done yet. How many people did you say were on the ship? I've only talked to four of you so far," Q waved at the transporter engineer, who waved back awkwardly.
"Fine, say hello to whoever you want," Chakotay said.
"Why thank you for giving me permission," Q mocked, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I want to catch Vorik before he goes off duty."
Suddenly, the red alert klaxons began to go off, "Warning: Warp core breach in thirty seconds."
"Just kidding," Q snapped his fingers, and the alarms silenced as he left the room.
"I take it you've met Q," Captain Janeway turned to Harper.
"Yeah," Harper responded, "He dropped in a few days ago when the Borg arrived. I don't think he's been causing any real trouble, though."
***
Tyr felt the temperature of the room increase just slightly, then a familiar scent reached his nostriles. He turned from his work on the drop pod to speak with his fellow crewman.
"Tyr, I'm glad I caught you," Rev said.
"What is it?" Tyr asked, his voice already sounding annoyed by the interruption.
"I wanted to ask you a philosophical question."
Tyr became curious at this, "I'm listening."
"If you were in my place, what would you do?" Rev asked, "I mean, if you were a Magog with my hunger, and you had access to the ship, would you betray the crew?"
"If I were a Magog, and I had the crew's trust, I could easily overpower the rest of the ship," Tyr responded, "Why do you ask?"
"Curiosity," Rev answered simply, "How would you do it?"
"The first step would be to plant explosives in vital parts of the ship to disable the AI. I'd set them by remote, and wait. Then, I'd find an excuse to get the captain alone in the food storage center. At that moment, I'd ignite the explosives, and paralyze the captain with venom. I'd infest his body, and use my progeny to help get rid of the rest of the crew. The food stores would allow them to grow quickly. When they were mature, we'd take care of Beka, then Trance, followed by Harper. Without leadership, they would be easy targets. That leaves the Neitzchian. He'd be a threat, but against an army of Magog, even a Neitzchian could be beaten."
"Why don't you try to take over the ship as you are?" Rev persisted.
"I could take out Dylan and the AI, and I could handle most of the crew, if I did it quickly enough, but you would be too dangerous to fight alone."
"I've taken a vow..." Rev began.
"You're a Wayist. As such, your mind is clearer and more focused than most Magog, because you've mastered your hunger rather than allowing it to control you. That makes you more dangerous, not less. And, I don't doubt that you'd kill a traitor to protect innocent lives."
"You've thought about this before," Rev observed.
"I've thought about many things," Tyr answered, "If I don't consider every contingency, I could be caught off guard. If you did try to take over the ship, I'd wouldn't be able to rely on the rest of the crew to stop you."
"I would never hurt a member of the crew," Rev looked offended, "The Way..."
"I know you're a pacifist," Tyr cut him off, "But anything could happen."
Rev looked away for a moment, "I understand."
Tyr turned back to his work, which told Rev that the conversation was over.
"May the divine guide you. Goodbye."
Tyr grunted, but didn't say anything in response.
***
"Hey, nice to meet you," Harper couldn't help but survey Seven's well-toned body.
"Your method of delaying the Borg was admirable," Seven responded, "I know of only a few individuals with such intimate knowledge of the collective."
"It's just a trick I saw on TV," Harper explained.
"TV?" Seven asked.
"Television," Harper answered, "It's an ancient form of entertainment."
"I see," Seven spoke curtly, "How do you wish to begin?"
"I usually start from the top, babe," Harper smiled.
Seven looked as though the engineer had fallen far short of her expectations, "I will show you the relevant information in Voyager's databanks. I will also require any information you have aboard your vessel."
"Sorry, but the Borg got most of our info. We don't usually use the Maru anymore. Andromeda, the one that was attacking us a couple of hours ago, is our ship."
"That is unfortunate," Seven led Harper over to one of the science stations, "Why did your security officer not transport with you?"
"Tyr hates transporters," Harper answered, "He's bringing a drop pod over."
"An inefficient mode of transportation," Seven said disdainfully, "I will be in astrometrics, updating the database with the star configuration of our current galaxy. If you require any additional assistance, you can speak with Ensign Brin. He has been assigned to bridge station four."
"Thanks," Harper responded, watching as Seven walked off the bridge.
After glancing around for a moment, and taking in the site of Voyager's bridge, Harper set to work, "Computer, search for any references to Andromeda, Seamus Harper, Beka Valentine, Tyr Anasazi, Rev Bem, Trance Gemini, and Dylan Hunt."
"Five references found," The female voice answered promptly.
"List by type," Harper ordered.
"One astronomical entry for the Andromeda Galaxy, one starship data listing for USS Andromeda NCC 1802, one biographical data listing for Seamus Harper, one biographical data listing for Beka Valentine, one biographical data listing for Tyr Anasazi, and one biographical data listing for Dylan Hunt."
A chill ran down Harper's spine as he heard the names read, "Display entry for USS Andromeda."
"USS Andromeda NCC 18020:
Class - Prometheus
Commanding Officer - Cpt. Asardi Veresal
Executive Officer - Cmdr. Franklin Pierce
Additional Information - Technical data, ship history, officer listing, and standing mission specifications."
"Display entry for Seamus Harper."
"Harper, Seamus:
Seamus Harper was born on the lunar colony in the Sol system. He initally attended Lerene University on Gedre Six, but soon transferred to starfleet academy on Earth. He attended both institutions sporadically, until the date of his graduation at the age of 25. He went on to become the chief lab assistant of Dr. Leah Brahms, where his theories earned him recognition second only to Dr. Brahms herself. Currently, Mr. Harper is working as an instructor at Beshani University on Risa, where he is also attempting to earn his Ph. D."
'Risa,' Harper thought, 'Always thought I'd end up there, or Rura Penthe.'
Harper looked around again to make sure no one had seen what he was doing, "Show entry for Beka Valentine."
"Valentine, Rebecca:
Rebecca Valentine, a human from the Rederri Colony on the edge of Ferengi space, gave up official citizenship in the Federation so that she could take full ownership of a Ferengi Marauder. Her notable achievements include the successful navigation of the Kessedri trade route, a feat once thought to be impossible for a human pilot, and the recovery of a sacred Klingon artifact known as the Rune of K'Tria."
"Show the entry for Dylan Hunt."
"Hunt, Dylan:
Dylan Hunt was awarded the Federation Council Medal of Honor while still in Starfleet Academy for narrowly averting a warp core breach that nearly destroyed a training vessel just moments after the senior officers were killed by a shipwide EPS failure. Upon graduation, he was assigned to the Vigilance. He moved quickly through the ranks, attaining several medals and commendations along the way. Eventually, he was given command of an Ambassador class starship, USS Protector. His starship fought at the battle of Wolf 359, where it was captured. According to eyewitnesses, the Protector attempted to ram the Borg Cube in an attempt to buy time for the crew of that ship, along with the crew of the USS Zenith, to escape. The maneuver resulted in the capture of the Protector, and Captain Hunt has been pronounced a casualty of the Borg invasion."
Harper shook his head. He doubted that he could imagine a fate much worse than the living death of being a Borg drone, "Show the bio for Tyr."
"Anasazi, Tyr:
Tyr Anasazi was born on a disputed Federation outpost that is now in Cardassian territory. When the area was turned over to Cardassian rule, the outpost was dismantled. He led most of the civilians and several crewmen from the outpost to join the Maquis. His current whereabouts are unknown."
"Computer," Harper asked, "How many biographical entries does the database have?"
"This starship carries data on 81,523,047,249,196 life forms. Information on approximately three quadrillion additional life forms are available in the Federation library computer cores located on Andor, Betazed, Earth, and Vulcan."
"Computer, display all records reguarding known Borg behavior and technology."
"Five thousand, six hundred twenty-four records found."
Harper took a deep breath. He had a lot of reading ahead of him.
***
'No transwarp conduit detected. Engaging Type I transwarp drive; ETA 31 hours. Primary Objective: Assimilate home planet of species 10138. Tactical stregths: High-Yield warheads, AP Cannons, Nova Bombs, Lancer Corps, nanotechnology, advanced computational technologies. Tactical weaknesses: Lacks energy weapons, lacks energy shielding, lacks transporter technology. Adaptations selected: Transport to capital ships for assimilation, use interdiction field to prevent launch of additional ships, use class four subspace shockwave to eliminate all fighters, employ all EM countermeasures.'
***
Neelix placed the ladel back on the hook. He wished that Voyager had some Talaxian cookware, but the human conventions served his needs well enough.
Humans. Neelix continued to work as he considered the powerful influence they had exerted on the Federation. He had seen images of Vulcan architecture in the ship's archives, and that hardly reminded him of the ship. Vulcan buildings were often adorned with sandy browns and stone. The polished metal appearance of Voyager very strongly resembled buildings of the earth in the late 22nd century.... Or was it the 23rd? The interior lighting almost earily resembled human flouresent lighting.
Why? Humans were a wonderful species, certainly, but the Federation had plenty of other species to emulate. Humans do procreate a lot... maybe number had something to do with it? Starfleet command was on earth, probably because of the scenery. Maybe that was it?
Ah! The kedrian soup was ready. Neelix put thoughts of architecture and politics out of his mind as he went to serve his latest discovery from the ship's database.
"How's the Mogria pie, Tom?"
"Fine," Lt. Paris crunched a piece of the filling, "What's in it?"
Neelix paused, "It's a... small, terrestrial animal."
Tom stopped, "What kind of animal?"
Neelix looked a bit nervous, "I believe the technical name is... Cedrian Slime Beetle."
The navigator swallowed hard, "Nice choice."
Neelix poured a bit of the soup into a bowl and turned, "Here, try this."
Tuvok sighed, and tasted the thick material, "Adequate, as always, Mr. Neelix."
"Glad to hear it," Neelix practically beamed, "If you'll excuse me, Vorik lookes a little upset. As ship's morale officer, I had better go take care of it."
Neelix hussled off, and the two officers resumed their conversation. Like most of the crew, they had been working almost non-stop to find some way of dealing with the Borg threat. Thus far, almost nothing had been accomplished.
***
Captain Janeway ordered a second mug of hot coffee from the replicator. She hadn't been sleeping well. The Probe's databanks indicated that Cubes carry generators for the inter-dimensional vortices. If they could get ahold of that generator, they could go home at any time, and the Federation would be able to explore places that they hadn't even dreamed of. Unfortunately, stealing technology from a Cube was about the most difficult mission she could imagine. Still there had to be a way...
The door chimed, and Janeway opened the door. Commander Chakotay arrived, carrying a data pad, "Andromeda's security officer just arrived. I thought you'd want to know."
"Thanks," The Captain responded, "What's that?"
Chakotay glanced down at the pad, and handed it to Janeway, "This is a list of equipment that Andromeda's engineer ased for. I was about to head down to engineering when I found out that the shuttle from the Maru was being brought aboard."
Janeway began to read the list, "Nadion emitter, heisenburg compensator, a warp coil! What does he need all this for?"
"He said he needs to study it as part of his research."
"You weren't thinking of giving him all this, were you?"
Chakotay shook his head, "No, but I did want to have B'Elenna and Seven take a look at this list."
Janeway looked over the list again, "He's got a pretty good selection from our technology here. Some of these parts are used in the phaser banks, others are from the transporters, some are from the sensor array... I'd like to know how he found out about some of these things."
"So would I," The Commander responded, "We scanned the Maru, and it doesn't have anything even resembling a phaser, and from what we got from the Andromeda, it doesn't look like that ship has them either. If they knew how to make phasers, the ships would probably benefit from having them."
"Are you saying we're dealing with some kind of spy?" Janeway asked.
"A spy wouldn't be this careless, but he knows more than he's telling us. I want to have an armed escort with him at all times. Telsia is a Betazoid, isn't she?"
"Half Betazoid, half Vulcan," Janeway didn't have any trouble remembering that combination.
"I think I'll assign her and Foster to look after our guests."
***
"Rommie, I want you to..." Dylan paused, hearing a slight noise coming from the avatar, "Rommie, are you crying?"
"No, I'm fine," Rommie took a breath and turned, "What do you need?"
"Rommie, it's all right. I know this must be hard for you."
"It's just another mission. As long as my core personality is saved, my ship self can be rebuilt," Rommie answered.
"You don't have to do this," Dylan stepped closer, but Rommie suddenly became angry.
"I told you, I'm fine. Now, please let me get to work."
Dylan didn't know how to respond, "Rommie, what is going on? Since when can't you talk to me?"
"It isn't you," Tears started to come to Rommie's eyes, and she embraced Dylan, "I couldn't... stop them. I tried to kill you, and I couldn't do anything about it. And you..."
"... What did I do? I didn't want to use a Nova Bomb, but if destroying the ship is the only way to save you..."
"I know, but... I'm out there trying to kill my crew... trying to kill you. Dylan, promise you'll do anything to stop me. I... don't want to be responsible...."
"Rommie, that isn't you out there, and none of this is your fault."
"But, I can still hear her. I can't understand it anymore, but I know those are my thoughts mixed in with the rest of the Borg. My mind is still alive in there, and I'm helping them. How can they make me do this? What if, deep down..."
"Stop, it isn't you. It may sound like you, it may look like you, but inside it isn't you."
"Why are you so sure? It's my body, and even I'm not sure anymore..."
"I'll tell you why I'm sure. Rommie, you're the only reason that I'm still alive. You've been beside me through everything. When the crew died, you grieved with me. Whenever I make a decision, you're always behind me. You're asking me if you could hurt us, and I know you wouldn't. I know you're loyal to me, and I'll always be loyal to you. Never doubt that."
Rommie moved back slightly to look into Dylan's face. She smiled for a moment, and put her head on his shoulder. There was nothing left to say.
***
"If we could get Seven aboard the Cube, she could download what we need from the collective," Harper suggested.
"What, exactly, do we require?" Seven asked.
"For one thing, I'd like to know why the Borg are advancing so fast."
"The reason is obvious. Initially, the ultimate method of superluminal travel for the Borg was transwarp. That mode of transportation is too slow for efficient intergalactic travel. For that reason, they had to farm the galaxy, only asssimilating enough to remain stronger than other known races. Once a species discovered a drive system that would allow intergalactic travel, the Borg would be able to assimilate the rest of their initial galaxy and move on to the next. Now that the Borg have drive systems that allow both intergalactic and interuniversal travel, there is no need for them to wait and assimilate only what they need. They can capture everything that they discover."
"What about their defensive network?" Tyr asked, "Knowing the location of their ships and facilities would be a great asset."
"And we should find out which technologies they've picked up."
"I will not have access to that much information," Seven stated.
"I could get through their security..." Harper trailed off.
"Without nanoprobes in your system, it would be impossible for you to gain direct access to the collective."
"...Unless we had a Vulcan. He could be a mind bridge, and let me hook up to the collective through you."
"You have demonstrated that you know a great deal about our technology and xenobiology. However, we have no records of contact with your people. How do you explain this?"
"I'll explain later. We've got to..."
"You will explain now."
"Do you want our help or not?" Tyr demanded.
"We do not, unless you tell us how you have gathered so much information about us. You could not possibly have learned so much in the time that you have been here."
"We'll see what your captain has to say about this," Tyr walked over to a console on the wall, "Tyr Anasazi to Captain Janeway."
The console beeped, "Janeway here. Is there a problem?"
"Your former drone is overly curious about us. I am tempted to terminate this partnership, and look for a way to stop the Borg on our own."
"If you value your privacy that much, we won't press you. We both have bigger concerns at the moment, and I intend to get through this."
"I'm glad we've come to an agreement, Tyr out."
Seven's eyes seemed to bore through Tyr, "Very well. I will suggest your plan to the Captain."
***
"I think we should increase our surveillance, and monitor their computer access," Chakotay suggested, "They're obviously hiding something."
"Telsia has confirmed that hypothesis," Tuvok stated, "She sensed both secrecy and deception from them."
"Greater surveillance may not be needed," Seven responded, "The engineer wishes to create a direct connection to the Borg collective by mind melding with me as I access their computers. Essentially, he would be using my mind as a conduit."
"This is getting rediculous," Janeway shook her head, "How does he know about mind melds?"
"I believe the mind meld would give us an opportunity to answer many of these questions," Seven reminded her.
"I'm not going to let a member of my crew mind meld with a person who's been lying to us from the start."
"I must concur with Seven's appraisal of the situation," Tuvok said, "However, you could require him to mind meld with me before we conduct the away mission aboard the Cube. That would allow us to monitor the mind meld in a controlled environment. We could learn what we wish to know, and if anything suspicious occurs, they could be arrested."
"What are our alternatives?" Janeway looked around the table.
"We're running out of options, fast," B'Elenna answered, "The Borg are growing more quickly than anything we've ever seen. We wouldn't last a minute in ship-to-ship combat. If we don't do something now, the Federation could be gone by the time we get back."
"Alright, we'll have the mind meld in sickbay at 0900," Janeway ordered, "If everything checks out, we'll use the Borg probe to get Seven, Tuvok, and Harper over to the nearest Borg vessel. Dismissed."