Chapter 26
We are dreamers, shapers, singers, and makers
On board Borg cube Five of Twelve
August 19, 2377
6:15pm
Captain Picard was understandably nervous as he stood inside the Borg cube. He was with a heavily armed away team, and expected this to be a ruse of some sort. What threw him for a loop was how cool it was inside the cube, remembering the first time he'd been in one and how hot it had been.
"Greetings! My name is Elric. I greet you in the name of the Technomages as a member of the Circle. I hope your transport over here was uneventful.," he said, in a rich, steady voice.
"Well, you picked a fine time to show up," said a voice behind him.
Picard looked behind Elric and saw the visage of Alwyn behind him. Elric turned and said, "It is good to see you again, my old friend."
"About time you showed up. Since others who I know have died have shown up as well, I figured it was only a matter of time until my brethren showed up. Who else is with you?"
Picard interrupted, "I have a more important question: why are you here on this Borg cube?"
"I can answer that."
Elric looked over and saw Galen approaching, with another member of the Circle, Blaylock. Picard looked at Blaylock and almost fainted, because he looked exactly like himself.
"Did I surprise you, mon capitan? I should, because in your universe, I would have been your great grandfather, Lucien Picard. However, in mine, I was picked up by my teacher, Sophocles, when my parents died and became what I am today."
Picard rallied and asked, "You still haven't answered my question."
Galen replied, "Then I shall. The Borg technology is similar to our own. It is derived from Shadow tech, albeit a bit differently. Elric and the others came out of another aperture in Borg space, and were going to be assimilated, but the tech that we have took over their tech..."
Elric interrupted, "...and we freed them."
Picard was shocked, "Freed them?"
A Borg came up to him, and Picard immediately noticed that the implants have been reduced drastically. "Locutus, these people have freed us from the control of the collective. For the first time, we have control and we can decide what we want to do! It's amazing!"
Picard asked, "And you are?"
The female Borg replied, "In my old life, my name was Drusilla, but I was Eight of Eleven here. I think I'll go back to my old name." She looked over and smiled at another technomage coming up behind them.
Isabelle addressed the group, "I have no idea why we are here, but we are here for a reason. When we had the chance to free the Borg from their technology, we did so, and they have repaid us by coming in on our side of the battle."
Elric added, "Alwyn and Galen have told me about the coming fight, and we want to sign on. I've asked the Borg for their assistance, and they've gladly given it. They know they can never replace all the lives that were lost to their aggression as part of the collective, but their joining us will go a long way to their redemption."
Picard couldn't believe what he was hearing, but slowly he began to realize that it was true. All his memories of being Locutus came back to him at that moment, and he realized that he could not hear the collective voice anymore. Instead, he heard the murmurs of a million conversations going on.
He extended a hand to the female Borg, Drusilla, and she shook it. "On behalf of the Federation, we welcome you." It was then that Picard fainted.
Sickbay
On board USS Enterprise-E
7:45pm
Elric looked at Picard as he laid on the bed, looking over the readouts from the scanners and using his own internal sensors to get an idea of what was going on.
Dr. Beverly Crusher let out a sigh. "I don't understand it. I thought we'd been able to get out almost all of the Borg implants, but when he touched your hand, they reactivated."
Drusilla looked very sad, clearly worried about Picard's condition. "I don't know what happened either, Doctor. My injection functions were disabled at the time, so it couldn't be that."
Commander Harry Kim nodded, "We know it's not that. Witnesses said that they didn't see you inject him with anything. Also, Dr. Crusher has determined that the amount of Borg technology in his body hasn't increased. However, it has become active."
Crusher added, "If we don't find a way to counteract this, he'll die soon."
Elric turned to Crusher, walked to her, and said, "The solution is simple. He must be injected with the Borg technology again."
Kim was aghast, "Absolutely not! He wouldn't approve of it!"
Elric calmly turned to the exec, "Whether or not he approves is irrelevant. If he is to live, he must become what the Borg originally made him. It will be difficult, but I will supervise the procedure myself. Of course, the doctor is more than welcome to come along and observe."
Crusher looked at Elric, then at Kim, finally saying. "He's right, Harry. Ever since he was abducted and transformed by the Borg before the Battle at Wolf 359, he's not been the same, and I think it has to do with the implants. I can't think of any other way to save him."
Kim walked around the office briefly, putting his hands in his pants pockets. This gave him time to think, and he knew it was a hard decision to make. It didn't take long, though. "Do it."
On board Borg Cube Five of Twelve
8:30pm
"I saw where you put some of my ashes in the Well of Forever, Galen. I'm so glad you found it."
Galen couldn't believe he was with his love again. They had met during his initiation, and fell in love soon after. However, it was a short affair, as she was taken from him due to the actions of the evil technomages, Elizar and Razeel.
Strangely to Galen, his emotions somehow kept themselves in check. It was if his mind was overloaded, and the time to recover was allowing him to process this strange new reality. He had thought Isabelle lost forever, so to see her again was a miracle.
"So now do you believe in God and His plan, dearest Galen?"
Galen looked at her, leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips, then said, "I'm not sure yet, but I am a lot close to believing than disbelieving now. I just need time to deal with this."
Isabelle nodded, "I understand."
Isabelle's mother, Burrell, walked in on them. "Well, well, here are the two lovebirds! Tell me, Galen, isn't it nice to have us around again?"
Galen smiled and asked, "Where's Johnny?"
Burrell laughed and said, "Thanks for reminding me! I need to create a new holodemon. And I think I'll create another one to mimic that handsome Captain Riker! Talk about a sexy man!"
Elric smiled as he heard that part of the conversation as he passed them in the hallway, making his way to the center of the cube with Drusilla.
"So when do we expect all the cubes to be gathered at the meeting place?"
Drusilla paused for a moment and made a mental calculation, "They'll all be there in four days time. Everything should be ready for the transformation that you want to make to us as well as our cubes."
Elric nodded, "Yes. We need to improve the shielding and weapons systems and redesign the cubes for the upcoming battle. The Legendora are sending over some techs to adapt their technology. It's risky, and might not work."
Drusilla stopped, and Elric did as well. She looked at him, soberly, and said, "The Borg collective took my life once, and, thanks to you and your kind, we've gotten it back, after a fashion. If we can do some good after all we've done, it's worth the risk of losing it all if the processes don't work."
Elric nodded and entered the center. There lay Captain Picard on a makeshift bed, along with Dr. Crusher and Commander Geordi LaForge at his side. "I'm sorry that we haven't the time to make things for comfortable here for you, but time is of the essence."
Crusher nodded and said, "When do we begin?"
Drusilla walked over to Picard and extended her arm to reach out to his forearm. She looked over at Crusher and LaForge, and they both nodded to her. "Go ahead.," whispered Crusher, clearly nervous about what was about to happen. Drusilla closed her eyes, and two black tubes shot out of her wrist and entered into his forearm.
A moment later, she retracted the tubes and walked away. Crusher ran her medical tricorder over him, and commented upon finishing, "He's stabilizing. How long will it take for the transformation to be completed?"
"One hour. Then Elric will need to send in his organelles to help with freeing the remaining implants."
Crusher nodded and walked over to one of the chairs sent over in the hastily assembled room. They sat and watched as Picard began to change into the very thing that he long feared.