Cold Wind Whispering
Once Third—who requested we refer to her as Mezoti—released us, everyone transported to Voyager. The other children, though hesitant, agreed to stay with us until we rendezvoused with Unimatrix Zero, at which point they would likely join the other liberated drones. The baby, too, had been transferred to Voyager, though no one was sure yet what to do with him.
Mezoti set the broken cube to self-destruct, and we made our slow way back out of the nebula.
Kes refused to let anyone question Iliana or First until they'd fully recovered from the ordeal, so Captain Janeway interviewed Mezoti. Chakotay, Tuvok, and I joined them in the conference room.
"Tell me," Janeway said to the girl, "when did Crewman Ghemor become aware of your true identity?"
"She recognized me when she came aboard our vessel. She triggered the return of my memories."
Chakotay frowned. "How?"
"She sent a feedback pulse through my interface, then insisted on treating the damage. While she was treating me, she deactivated the neural restructuring that had begun to develop in my cortical implant, which allowed me to access information the maturation process would have destroyed. She told me to act normal, not to say that I remembered anything. She said that if I was careful and did everything she said, we'd come back to Voyager together."
"How did you come to be on Brunal?" Tuvok asked.
"Iliana found out that someone on your ship told the Devore about us. She warned our elder and said she might have a way to help us escape after we were captured. Kir asked her to save me."
"Why?" I asked.
"Because I am a secret-keeper."
"What is a secret-keeper?" Janeway asked.
"Rarely, Brenari are born with unique genetic traits that cause us to age more slowly than the others. We are called secret-keepers because we collect and preserve stories of our people."
"Like historians," Chakotay said.
Mezoti tilted her head. "Historians study and write. We carry memories. Our telepathy is stronger than the average Brenari, and our lifespans are much longer. The ones you knew as my parents, for example, weren't actually my parents. They were historians. They agreed to pass as my parents so I wouldn't be taken to an orphan camp, or exposed for what I am and taken somewhere worse."
I shook my head. "Wait a minute. Are you a child or an adult?"
"That dichotomy does not apply to us. I am not a child, but I haven't reached physical maturity yet, either."
"And your real parents?"
"Dead," she said, her matter-of-fact delivery making my chest squeeze.
"You're safe with us," Janeway said. "We can restore your natural features and find a way to get you back to your people. We transmitted your logs to Queen Nessav of the Krenim Commonwealth, and she's done a great deal to assist your people since then. I'm sure she'll find a safe place for you to go."
"She already did. She made contact with your crewman after you left Devore space. Iliana helped the queen find me and provided information on how to alter my appearance. The queen arranged for my placement in the Brunal colony herself. Clearly, it didn't go well. Besides, returning to my people isn't my mission."
"Your mission?"
"Elaborate," Tuvok said.
Mezoti narrowed her eyes at the captain. "Where is Annika? I want to talk to her."
"She left us," Janeway said. "We believe she's with Unimatrix Zero."
"Then I'll go with them when your contact arrives."
"That's your prerogative. In the meantime, if you wouldn't mind answering our questions—"
"No," Mezoti said. "It's not for you to know. Besides, your minds are too small for the knowledge I carry. It would overwhelm you."
It was Janeway's turn to narrow her eyes. "Try us."
Mezoti set her small jaw and lifted her chin in defiance, her eyes just as cold and hard as the captain's despite her young appearance. Before much of a staredown could ensue, however, three things happened in rapid succession.
First, bright flashes of light pulled my gaze to the viewport behind Janeway's head. The nebula's blue gasses had thinned, allowing for our first glimpses of the star-speckled space beyond. But there were more than stars outside the nebula's boundaries. Several ships were locked in battle.
Borg ships.
Second, the moment Voyager emerged from the nebula, the three nearest cubes turned their weapons on us. The ship shook and lights dimmed into the flashing crimson of red alert.
Third, the comm system chirped and Tom's panicked voice filled the conference room. "Captain to the bridge."
"Report," Janeway barked.
"Twelve Borg ships are engaged in battle around the nebula's boundary," Tom said, jogging from the central dais to relieve the junior officer at the conn.
"Sensors didn't detect them until we exited the nebula," Harry said.
Another volley of phaser fire nearly threw me off-balance as I took my station.
"Shields at twenty-eight percent," Tuvok said.
"Can we take shelter in the nebula?" Chakotay asked.
Pulling up the internal sensor array, I took a quick look at Voyager's own systems.
"I wouldn't recommend it," Harry said. "Our shields will corrode in minutes. We wouldn't have time to get far enough from their lines to escape."
He was right. I turned to Mezoti, who had followed me to the science station. "How did you protect your cube from the nebula's gasses?"
"This vessel does not have the necessary technology to complete that modification."
Boom. "Nineteen percent," Tuvok warned.
"Return fire," Janeway said. "How soon will our friends be here?"
"We lost contact with them a few minutes ago," Harry said grimly, "but they were still several days out."
A notification blinked, pulling my attention back to external sensors. "Equinox just cloaked. It looks like they've gone to warp."
"Mr. Paris?"
"I'm trying to track their warp trail," Tom said, "but it's not very strong. I'm not sure how closely I can follow it."
"Do the best you can, Lieutenant. Get us out of here, maximum warp."
Two of the three ships fired simultaneously, causing a bone-jarring jolt and blowing out multiple systems. Lights flickered. It was all I could do to keep from smacking my head on the console.
"Direct hit to both nacelles," Tuvok said. "Shields are at six percent."
"Warp core is offline!" reported Marla Gilmore from the engineering station.
Another jolt. "They have us in a tractor beam," Harry said.
My heart sank. Both hands slid from the control panel into my lap. It was over. Even if we shot out their tractor emitter, there were three of them and one of us, and we couldn't run. We were done for.
"You were wrong about me, Rudy," I whispered. "I'm sorry."
"We are the Borg," came the voice of the collective over the comm. "You will be assimilated. Resistance is—"
But they were cut off when another of the cubes shot out their tractor beam and captured us for themselves. For several long and precarious moments, Voyager was jerked around from tractor to tractor, the three Borg ships having been joined by four more and none of them seeming to agree on who should keep us. If we were lucky, they'd tear us apart before we reached anyone's assimilation chamber.
All at once, everything simply stopped. The tractor beams dissipated. The cubes stopped moving, shooting, doing anything against us or one another. My own heart stopped, as well, shock tingling through my body as my hands found their way again to the panel.
"What the hell?" Tom said.
"Report," Janeway demanded.
"I'm getting hundreds—no thousands—of transporter signatures between the cubes," I said.
"Any idea what they're doing?" Chakotay asked.
"There are only two distinct neural frequencies here. One is already growing weaker. The other is coming from the ships sending boarding parties." I looked at Janeway. "I think they're assimilating the other collective's forces into their own."
"And we're right in the middle," she said.
"Captain," Harry interjected, "I'm getting a comm signal. It's being piggy-backed on one of the cube's sensors. Audio only, but it's got a Federation signature."
Janeway stood. "Put it through."
"Voyager?" A woman's voice— familiar, but distorted. I couldn't place it. "Voyager, do you read?"
"We hear you."
The woman sighed. "It's good to hear your voice, Captain."
"I'm sorry, do we know you?"
"It's complicated, and I don't have time to explain. The important thing is that I'm not Borg. Er—well, I am Borg, technically, but I'm not part of the hive mind anymore."
"How did you come by a Federation encryption algorithm?"
"I'm a Starfleet officer, ma'am. And right now, I'd really appreciate a rescue. My cube is being boarded. The other Borg ships? They're from a rival collective. They're assimilating us right now. I'm masking my lifesign, but I don't have much time."
"I'm afraid we're not in much better shape than you are."
"Yes you are. Unimatrix Zero is on the way."
Janeway glanced at me. I double-checked the long range sensors and shrugged. "Nothing I can see, but Borg sensors are far superior to ours."
"We've been tracking them, Captain," the woman said. "They jumped to transwarp about an hour ago."
The captain looked from me to Chakotay, who had also gotten to his feet. "Identify yourself," she ordered. "I'd like to confirm that you are what you say you are."
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"I'd like to make that call for myself, if you don't mind."
The woman paused, took a shaky breath, then said, "It's me, Captain. Lyndsay Ballard. Ensign. Service number WF-131-859. Look, I know you think this is a trap, but you have to believe me. I don't have much time. Please don't leave me to the Borg."
I knew Janeway well enough to guess she intended to help, but she'd come to depend on Chakotay's careful skepticism to balance her more intrepid impulses. She held his gaze for just a moment.
He nodded.
"Alright," she said.
"You'll have to come closer so my transporter signal doesn't get noticed. I'm sending you my coordinates."
"Got it," Harry confirmed. "It's the cube closest to the nebula. Thirteen kilometers starboard."
"That's gonna take some careful navigating," Tom warned. "Let's hope we don't attract the Borg's attention."
"Shadow maneuvers," I said.
"I beg your pardon?" Janeway asked.
"It's a trick we used in the Maquis. Reduce power to thrusters, drop life support to five percent, and cut power to all other systems."
"I'm not sure it'll work so well on a ship this size," Chakotay said. "Even at a minimum power output, we can't hide from their sensors."
"The Borg are a bit preoccupied at the moment," Lyndsay said. "I doubt they'll notice low-level readings."
"We'll be there shortly, Ms Ballard. Janeway out." The hint of a smile tugged at the captain's lips as she threw a glance my way. "Shadow maneuvers." She returned to her seat. "Do it."
Chakotay followed suit.
"Reducing power to thrusters," Tom said.
"Setting life support at minimum and cutting power to nonessential systems," Harry said. Everything but emergency systems shut down, plunging us into a darkness broken only by dim shafts of light along the deck and bulkheads.
"Setting a course," Tom said.
Slowly but surely, we made our way to Lyndsay's cube on barely-powered thrusters, hoping against hope that she was right—that the Borg were too busy assimilating each other to pay attention to us.
It was a gamble all around. If the Borg did notice us, how would they react? What if we got there and they detected Lyndsay's transport anyway? What if it wasn't Lyndsay? And even if everything did go well, what then? We still had no engines, no shields, and little hope. Eventually, one collective would consume the other and they'd all be united against us. We still had weapons, and could hold them off for a few minutes at most, but after that…
"Approaching coordinates," Tom said.
"All stop," Janeway ordered. "Harry, bring up communications and inform Miss Ballard that we're ready."
"Aye, Captain."
There was silence on the bridge while Harry relayed the message, and I relaxed into it. We'd made it without fuss—a small relief, but still I took a deep breath.
"We have her, Captain."
Just then, my sensors lit up like the sun. "Transporter signatures! The Borg are returning to their ships. I'm only getting one neural link now."
"Red alert," Janeway said. Immediately, Voyager's systems were back up. "Reroute all available power to the shields. Prepare to take us into the nebula."
"Captain—" I started to protest, but my station cut me off with a shrill notification. "Transwarp conduit, two hundred kilometers aft."
"On screen."
The viewscreen flickered to life just in time to catch the aperture yawn open and spit out an entire fleet of Borg cubes and spheres.
"Well," Tom said, "either we're saved or we're fucked."
As if in answer, the cubes surrounding us moved into formation, placing themselves between us and the newcomers. A moment later, they opened fire.
"We're being hailed," Harry said. "It's General Korok."
Janeway shot to her feet. "Put him through."
But the voice that greeted us didn't belong to Korok. It belonged to Annika.
"Captain Janeway," she said.
"It's good to hear from you," Janeway said.
"And you, as well. Our scans show your impulse engines are down, which will make this more difficult but not impossible. Once sufficient cover has been established, you will need to come within ten kilometers of General Korok's vessel. I am sending you the coordinates now. We will tractor you into our holding bay and retreat to our nearest base of operations. Is Equinox with you?"
"No. They fled as soon as we left the nebula."
"Understood," Annika said, her voice emotionless. "Our fleet are attempting to draw the Borg away from you. Please be efficient. Hansen out."
For a while, we watched in silence as both sides of the war battered each other. Try as they might, Korok's forces couldn't seem to distract the Borg enough to give us an opening. Without the regenerative capabilities of a neuroelectric field, Unimatrix Zero took a beating.
"Are we really doing this?" I asked. "Leaving Equinox behind?"
"We don't have much choice in the matter," Chakotay said.
"I know. I just—" My throat tightened, making my words a choked whisper. "—I promised him we'd get his people home."
Chakotay's face softened, empathy overtaking the hardened features.
"I don't like it any more than you do," Janeway said, her expression pained, "but Mister Burke made his choice. We'll just have to track him down later." When one of the liberated cubes lost power and began to drift, she turned to Tuvok. "I think it's time we lent them a hand."
"Attacking the Borg will be difficult with only thrusters."
"We won't be attacking them—at least, not overtly. Arm two photon torpedoes for remote detonation and prepare them for transport. We're going to sneak them inside the Borg ships."
Tuvok nodded. Soon enough, he reported that the payloads were ready.
"Mister Kim?"
"On it."
Seconds ticked by, dragging on longer than they should have. One of the enemy cubes fired a sustained beam at a small liberated sphere, causing our ally to shatter like an old glass light fixture. Combusting antimatter flashed briefly within the glittering shards of bulkhead, then succumbed to the cold, dark vacuum around it. I double-checked my sensors—it wasn't Korok's sphere—and let out a shaky breath.
Another nearby ally let loose a barrage of angry green phaser fire, carving a hole in the Borg ship.
"Torpedo is in place," Harry said.
"Blow it."
Before the Borg vessel could even begin to repair their damage, an explosion somewhere within the ship caused a cascade failure. It, too, burst into billions of tiny pieces.
"Cut power to all non-essential systems except for transporters and thrusters," Janeway said. "Tom, get us out of here."
"Aye, Captain."
Slowly, Voyager wove through the destruction all around us. The Borg weren't having an easy day, but Korok's forces were definitely taking heavier casualties. The battle wasn't sustainable. We couldn't win. All we could do was run.
Directly to port, the other enemy ship guarding us took a particularly hard hit from two of Korok's vessels. Harry jumped at the opportunity, planting the second torpedo somewhere deep within its twisted bulkheads. The explosion didn't set off a cascade reaction, but it did disable the vessel enough to knock out its power. The green lights seeping from within its bare frame blinked and were snuffed out.
Still, I couldn't help but feel the eyes of ten thousand drones as we passed by the cube's darkened face.
"Cut power to transporters," Janeway said. "Steady as she goes."
By the time we made it to Korok's ship, half of his fleet had been destroyed or seriously damaged. How would they make it back to their base?
"Cut thrusters."
The moment Voyager stopped moving, Korok snapped us up in a tractor beam. For the second time in days, I watched through a viewscreen as a Borg ship swallowed me whole.
Just as we were reaching the holding bay doors, a sensor display caught my eye. Two of Korok's ships drifted towards the Borg line so slowly they must have been using thrusters. They were too heavily damaged to do much else. As the holding bay doors squeezed shut, I watched the two green dots on my screen vanish in a coordinated act of self-destruction, blowing a portion of the enemy fleet away with them.
Then, safe inside the belly of Korok's ship, we fled.
