Chapter 86.
Infinite Regress.
(Scott POV)
We were in the conference room.
"When I checked the overnight sensor logs, This little surprise was waiting for me," Harry said.
"Maybe I'm not quite awake, But it looks like its over 100 kilometers wide," I said.
"120, At first I thought it was an asteroid cluster until I picked up a residual warp signature," Harry said.
"It was a Borg Vessel," 7 said. "There are tetryon particles in the debris consistent with the atmosphere inside a cube,"
"Any idea what destroyed it," Chakotay said.
"We would need to run close range scans of the hull fragments," 7 said.
"Unless we alter course, We'll get our chance," Harry said. "The Debris field's directly ahead,"
"Then I suggest we cut a wide berth, Chances are the Borg will send more vessels to investigate, Alter course to avoid the debris, If that's all," I said.
"One other piece of Business, Captain," Neelix said. "It seems we had another incident in the Mess Hall last night,"
"Return of the midnight Snacker," B'Elanna said.
"I'm afraid so," Neelix said.
"Casualties," I said.
"A leg of Kelaran wildebeest I'd prepared for Ensign Ryson's Birthday, Since Commander Tuvok has been unable to round up any suspects, I'd like to ask that stronger measures be taken," Neelix said.
"Perhaps an armed security detail," Tuvok said.
"I'd like to ask permission to replicate some locking mechanisms for the cabinet doors," Neelix said.
"Granted, Dismissed," I said.
XXX
I was in my ready room. When.
"Captain to the Bridge," Chakotay said.
"Report," I said as I got out.
"7 attacked B'Elanna in Engineering, She's on Deck 9 Section 23," Chakotay said.
"Forcefields," I said. "Don't tell me those 2 have actually come to blows,"
"Not that I know of," Chakotay said.
"We got her, Deck 10 Section 32," Harry said.
"Bridge to Tuvok, 7's been contained Deck 10 Section 32," I said.
"Acknowledged," Tuvok said. "We're nearing her position,"
"What is going on?" I said.
"Wish I knew," Chakotay said.
"Phaser fire Deck 10 Section 32," Harry said.
"Bridge to Tuvok, Report," I said.
"It's best that you come to Sickbay Captain," Tuvok said.
"Meet you there, Commander, The Bridge is yours," I said.
As I headed there.
As 7 woke up.
"7," I said.
"Captain, Why am I here?" 7 said.
"You've been unconscious for nearly 2 hours, We believe you are having a Neurological disorder," I said.
"Voices, I hear Voices," 7 said.
"Describe them," Doc said.
"They are agitated, chaotic, Too many voices, Too many voices," 7 said.
"The Cortical inhibitor is destabilizing," Doc said. "I'm increasing the Neurotransmitter levels, It's working, Do you still hear the voices,"
"They are fading," 7 said. "They are gone,"
"All right, Let's see what we can do to keep them from coming back," I said. "What's the last thing you remember,"
"I was in Engineering assisting Lt Torres," 7 said.
"You have no recollection of a confrontation with B'Elanna?" Tuvok said.
"Confrontation," 7 said.
"I'm not sure why, But you seem to be manifesting personalities other than your own," Doc said.
"Naomi, Claims the 2 of you played together for nearly an hour this afternoon," I said.
"You also Attacked Lt Torres, She told us you called yourself Son of K'Vok," Tuvok said. "And that you initiated a Klingon Mating Ritual,"
"I have no memory of those events," 7 said.
"Come look at this," Doc said.
"Doctor," 7 said.
"This is your neural pattern, The memory engrams and synaptic pathways that define you as an individual, Unfortunately you're not alone, 13 new Neural patterns have emerged in your cerebral cortex, Klingon, Vulcan, Terrelian, Human and several others I can't identify," Doc said.
"How?" 7 said.
"They're coming from within you, During your time with the Borg, the Collective assimilated hundreds of Different species, All of those neural patterns were integrated into the hive mind," Doc said.
"Of course," 7 said.
"That means they're in your mind too," Doc said. "Stored within your cortical Implants, Dormant until now,"
"From what We can tell, the various neural patterns are surfacing Randomly," I said.
"In essence, you've developed the Borg equivalent of multiple personality disorder," Doc said.
"Can you correct the malfunction?" 7 said.
"The Cortical inhibitor is suppressing the effect, but it's only a temporary measure," Doc said.
"Lt Torres detected a Borg interlink frequency, It could be causing my cortical implants to malfunction," 7 said.
"The Signal appears to be emanating from the Borg Debris field, we discovered this morning," Tuvok said.
"Maybe we should jump to Warp Try to get our of range," I said.
"The Signal permeates subspace, We cannot avoid it," 7 said.
"Our only hope is to terminate the signal at it's point of origin," Doc said.
"Set a course for the Debris field, When we arrive, we may need your help, Feel up to it?" I said.
"Yes, Captain," 7 said.
"Keep a closer eye on her, Doc, In case she has any more unexpected visitors," I said.
As I headed for the Bridge.
XXX
"We're approaching the Borg Debris field," Tuvok said.
"Bridge to 7," Chakotay said. "We're approaching the debris field,"
"Acknowledged," 7 said.
"Red Alert," I said. "Shields up, Standby weapons,"
As the Klaxons went Red.
"Survivors," I said.
"None," Tuvok said.
"Any sign of Borg Vessels," Chakotay said.
"No, sir," Tom said. "We're the first ones here,"
"I'm picking up the source of the interlink frequency, Bearing 027 mark 3," Harry said.
"On screen," I said. "Magnify,"
"It's a Borg Vinculum," 7 said.
"Vinculum," Chakotay said.
"The Processing device at the core of every Borg vessel, It interconnected the Minds of all the Drones, It purges individual thoughts, and disseminates information relevant to the Collective," 7 said.
"It brings order to Chaos," I said.
"Precisely," 7 said.
"Looks like this one has established a link to your cortical implant," I said.
"I believe it has identified me as an errant Drone," 7 said. "It is attempting to reintegrate me into the collective, the Vinculum is malfunctioning, it is sending me erratic commands,"
"Bringing chaos to order," Tuvok said.
"Yes," 7 said.
"Can you sever the link?" I said.
"Not without risking permanent damage to my own systems, The Vinculum must be taken off line," 7 said. "Permission to Beam it aboard for analysis, I have worked with this technology before, I may be able to disable it,"
"We're talking about the heart of a Borg Cube, I'd rather not take it inside my ship," I said. "Can you disable it remotely,"
"Yes but I would need several days, The Borg may return by then, I recommend we take the Vinculum and leave this region immediately," 7 said.
"Tuvok, Prepare to beam it to Engineering," I said. "Erect a Level 10 forcefield, and maintain constant surveillance, the moment it poses a threat send it back into space, Tom as soon as it's aboard get us out of here Warp 9,"
"Aye Captain," Tom said.
"I understand what you're going through, and I want to help you in every way I can, But the safety of this crew is my first responsibility, We haven't had the best of luck with the Borg," I said.
"Nor Have I," 7 said.
"Have the Doc with you just in case," I said.
"Aye Captain," 7 said.
XXX
I was in Astrometrics.
"Species 6339, Humanoid, Warp Capable, Origin Grid 124, Octant 22 Theta, They first encounted the Borg, approximately 4 years ago, since that time, 11 Billion individuals have been assimilated 3 days ago the Collective detected on of their last surviving shuttlecraft, A cube was sent to intercept it," 7 said.
"We believe the Virus was carried within their Bodies, Once they were assimilated, it spread to the Vinculum," Doc said.
"The Drones aboard no doubt, experienced symptoms similar to my own, It is no surprise they destroyed themselves," 7 said.
"Then Lets find Species 6339, They may be able to help us treat you," I said. "Begin long range astrometric scans, See if they have any more vessel in this region,"
"Yes Captain," 7 said. "I've already began a spatial diag,"
"7" I said.
"My my my, look at the size of that thing, This viewscreen it's got to be one of the biggest I've ever seen, I'll give you 20 bars of latinum for it," 7 said.
"I think the inhibitor's gone offline, Would you come here Please," Doc said.
"Be quiet, Can't see you I'm in the middle of a deal, Name your price, Captain," 7 said.
"McCall and you are," I said.
"Daimon Torrot," 7 said.
"You're Ferengi," I said.
"Of course I'm Ferengi, Is that some kind of insult about the size of my ears," 7 said.
"No, not at all," I said. "I'd be happy to negotiate with you, But first we have to get you to Sickbay,"
"Sickbay, What for," 7 said.
"Because you're ill," I said.
"I've never felt better," 7 said.
"Doctor," I said.
"I'm afraid you've contracted a nasty strain of the Ankara Flu, We've been treating you several days, Remember," Doc said.
"No," 7 said.
"Short term memory loss it's one of the symptoms, Don't worry it's isn't life threatening, But we'll never to treat you in Sickbay," Doc said.
"What is this treatment going to cost me," 7 said.
"It's free of Charge," Doc said.
"Free," 7 said.
"Yes," I said.
"You know I have been having a nagging pain in my lower left lobe and while you're at it, why don't you run a complete tricardial diagnostic," 7 said. "Impressive vessel Captain, Galaxy Class,"
"Intrepid," I said.
"Ah, ah and here we are in the much talked about Sickbay, Not exactly state of the medical art now, is it," 7 said.
"What do you mean?" Doc said.
"Low on Bio beds, Terrible lighting, obsolete instruments, lucky for you I know a medical supplier that ca spruce this place up in a nanosecond and I'll even drop my commission to a mere 30%," 7 said.
"How generous of you, Computer activate forcefield," Doc said as we got out of the way.
"Forcefield, You said I wasn't contagious," 7 said.
"It's for your own safety," Doc said. "I set the Cortical inhibitor to maximum, But it is no longer suppressing the effect, These personalities are going to keep surfacing,"
"All the more reason to shut down the vinculum as soon as we can," I said.
"Even if we do break the link it may be too late," Doc said. "7's own neural pattern is destabilizing, It could be lost,"
"Please help me, I'm looking for my son, Gregory Bergan, Lt Bergan Have you seen him," 7 said.
"No I'm afraid not," I said.
"From the starship Melbourne," 7 said.
"Melbourne," I said.
"I was supposed to meet him at Wolf 359, but starfleet send out a warning that the Borg were attacking that sector, It was too late for us to turn back, We were caught in a terrible battle, my ship was badly damaged, We have to leave on escape pods, I never found out what happened to Gregory, Please I haven't heard from him in over 3 days, Could you check with Starfleet Headquarters," 7 said.
"I'll see what I can do," I said.
"Thank you captain, If you if speak with him, could you tell him that his mother is all right and if he could pos. Captain," 7 said.
"7," I said.
"Yes, The Vinculum," 7 said.
"We're preparing to shut it down right away," I said. "I'll give the order as soon as Torres is ready,"
"How long was I absent," 7 said.
"About 20 minutes," I said.
"how many," 7 said.
"2. One of whom wanted to acquire half the items on the ship, Daimon Torrot, I believe," I said.
"Species 180, Ferengi," 7 said.
"Yes, the other was a woman whose son was lost in a Borg Attack, Wolf 359," I said. You'll get through this 7,"
"I do not share your optimism," 7 said as the Doc shut down the forcefield. "When you took me from the Borg and began to turn me into an individual, I found the silence of my own mind difficult to bear, I missed the voices of the Collective, But Now that I am an individual those same voices, Frighten me, Captain I don't know if I can tolerate this condition much longer, My Courage is insufficient,"
"Your job is to keep trying to hold on, Even when you think you can't, Leave the rest to me and the crew," I said.
XXX
As I got back to the Bridge.
"Meet anyone interesting," Chakotay said.
"Just finished swapping jokes with a Bolian manicurist, Before that I was debating the finer points of Temporal physics with a Krenim Scientist, 12 new personalities have surfaced in the past hour alone, 7's having a rough time of it, The Doctor had to sedate her," I said.
"And How's the Captain holding up?" Chakotay said.
"I've been better Chakotay, In fact, I'm starting to wonder if my first officer was right all along," I said.
"About what?" Chakotay said.
"You always said that Bringing 7 into the fold might be impossible," I said.
"You can take the Borg out the Collective, but I don't believe that, Not anymore," Chakotay said. "I didn't think she'd last a day, much less a year, I'd say you've proven me wrong,"
"Torres to Bridge," B'Elanna said.
"Go Ahead," I said.
"We're ready to begin disabling the vinculum," B'Elanna said.
"Do it," I said.
"Doctor to Bridge It seems to be working, Her neural pattern is stabilizing," Doc said.
"Tuvok to Bridge, The procedure was unsuccessful," Tuvok said. "The Vinculum has returned to full power,"
"Acknowledged, Doc report," I said.
"7's neural pattern has disappeared, Captain It appears that the other patterns have taken over completely, We've lost her," Doc said.
XXX
"Captain's log Supplemental, long range sensors have detected a vessel belonging to Species 6339, We've set a course to intercept them, in the hopes they can help us restore 7, End log," I said.
"I've managed to stabilize her primary cortical functions, but the woman in sickbay is not 7 not anymore, New personalities are emerging every few seconds now," Doc said. "She can't finish a sentence before the nest one rear its head, It creating an incredible strain on her cerebral cortex, If we don't deactivate the Vinculum soon, We may never get her back,"
"Tuvok," I said.
"Lt Torres is taking measures to prevent the Vinculum from adapting, but there's no guarantee she'll succeed," Tuvok said.
"Captain I've exhausted every viable treatment in my database," Doc said.
"Then Logic dictates we go beyond medical science, I will attempt to mind meld with 7," Tuvok said.
"A mind meld, You consider that a viable treatment," Doc said.
"7's neural pattern, her sense of self, is immersed in chaos, I will attempt to isolate her true self and guide it to the surface," Tuvok said.
"It's dangerous enough to meld with one person, Let alone hundreds of different personalities," I said
"It's too risky," Doc said.
"The Risk is mine to take," Tuvok said.
"I'm aware of that, but is this our only option," I said.
"I believe it is, Captain," Tuvok said.
"How long would you need to prepare," I said.
"Captain," Doc said. "You can't actually be considering this, Vulcan mumbo jumbo,"
"I will require 2 hours of meditation," Tuvok said.
"Begin Immediately, Report to Sickbay when you're ready, You said it yourself, We've exhausted every medical treatment," I said.
"I just hope I don't find myself with a second patient," Doc said.
"Captain to the Bridge," Chakotay said.
As I headed out.
"Report," I said.
"It's them Species 6339," Chakotay said.
"Their vessel is well armed, Captain, I'm picking up 22 phaser cannons, on the aft section alone," Harry said.
"Bring ours online just in case," I said. "Hail them,"
"They're responding," Harry said.
"On screen," I said. "I'm Captain McCall of the Federation Starship Voyager, We recently found a piece of Borg Technology, It's been infected with a viral agent we believe was transmitted by your,"
"The Vinculum, you have it," He said.
"Yes," I said.
"You've made a terrible mistake, Captain," He said.
XXX
"A weapon," I said.
"Yes, since the Borg decimated our world, We've been looking for ways to retaliate," He said.
"So you created a virus to infect their technology," I said.
"13 of my people were injected with the virus, They allowed themselves to be assimilated so that the virus would spread to this vinculum, Once Another borg ship had retrieved it, They would be infected as well, Then another cube and another," He said. "We had the opportunity to infect Dozen even hundreds of Borg Vessels until you interfered, Why?"
"You virus has had one unexpected causality, A member of my crew," I said.
"It wasn't designed to infect other species," He said.
"She's Borg," I said.
"We liberated her from the Collective over a year ago, She's an individual now," Chakotay said.
"We were hoping you could help us treat her," I said.
"We designed that Virus to destroy Borg Captain, We never considered a treatment, I'm afraid your drone won't survive," He said. "But we must return the vinculum to the debris field immediately, If the Borg Arrive first, We'll have lost our chance, And those 13 people will have died in vain,"
"All right, we'll return it to you, But first we need to try to save our crew member," I said. "We think we have a way to counteract the Vinculum's effects, B'Elanna,"
"I'm going to try to remodulate our dampening field to compensate," B'Elanna said.
"We don't have time for this," He said. "The Vinculum, Captain,"
"I can't give it to you, Not yet," I said.
"You've scanned our vessel, You're aware of our firepower," He said.
"You could undoubtedly do significant damage to Voyager, and to the Vinculum, Is that what you want?" I said.
"The Vinculum survived the destruction of one ship, what makes you so sure it won't survive another," He said.
XXX
As Chakotay and I got to the Bridge.
"Report," I said.
"The Alien Vessel is coming about," Tom said.
"They're charging Weapons," Harry said.
"Shields. Chakotay, Tactical," I said.
As we got hit.
"Direct hit, Shields are holding for now," Harry said.
"Target their weapons array, Phasers banks," I said.
"Ready," Chakotay said.
As we got hit.
"Shields down to 60%," Harry said.
"Return Fire," I said. "ZPM 1 to Shields, Evasive maneuvers,"
"Targeting systems are malfunctioning," Chakotay said.
"We're losing power to main thrusters," Tom said.
"Shields Down to 90%," Harry said. "The ZPM can't keep up,"
"Reroute all available power to shields," I said. "Chakotay, Manual Targeting, Hit whatever you have too,"
"Torres to Bridge, The Vinculum's stopped adapting, I think the New dampening field is working, We should have it disabled in the next 60 seconds," B'Elanna said.
As we got hit again.
"Shields down to 85%, 75%," Harry said.
"Chakotay Put Phasers to Maximum, Fire at will," I said.
"Power output's down to 29% 22, 17," B'Elanna said. "Bridge, We just lost the Field Emitters,"
"We took a direct hit to the power grid, Standby. Harry ZPM 2 to Shields and 3 Send 3 to Field emitters," I said. "Chakotay,"
"I can't get a clean shot on their weapons array," Chakotay said.
"Free Aim, Hit whatever you can," I said.
"Aye captain," Chakotay said.
"Shields are back to 95%, But I have no idea how much longer they can hold," Harry said.
"Bridge the Vinculum's powering up again," B'Elanna said.
"Field emitter are back online, B'Elanna Pull the Damn plug," I said.
"It's working, Power output down to 19%, 13%," B'Elanna said. "It's done Captain, The Vinculum's offline,"
"We have her back Captain," Doc said
"Hail them," I said.
"They aren't responding," Harry said.
"Lock onto that fucking thing and beam it into space, Torpedoes Maximum yield," I said.
"Transport complete," Chakotay said. "They're withdrawing,"
"Take us out of here Tom Warp 9, Engage," I said.
"Yes sir," Tom said.
XXX
"Captain's log Stardate 52356.2, After nearly a week of Regeneration, 7 has finally recovered from her ordeal, End log," I said.
"Neuroprocessor, Cortical receptors, All stable, " Doc said. "She's fit to return to duty,"
"What about her other personalities?" I said. "Any sign of them?"
"Those neural patterns have returned to their dormant state," Doc said.
"The Voice will not return," 7 said.
"I suppose that depends on your perspective, You may not hear them, But I suspect they'll always be with you," Doc said.
"The Members of this crew out themselves at risk to help me, I am unsure how to reciprocate," 7 said.
"Let's start with something small, Like a recalibration of the EPS Manifolds, B'Elanna's expecting you in Engineering," I said.
"I will join her shortly, There is a crew member I must see first," 7 said.
That's all for this chapter.
More to follow.
Stay tuned and safe.
Love Y'all
PEACE!