Chapter 102.
Survival instinct.
(Leah POV)
"Captain's Log. Stardate 53049.2, We've docked at the Markonian outpost and agreed to mutual visits, So I'm allow shore leave to anyone who wants it, Commander Tuvok Has objected to taking on too many visitors, But Security issues aside, I'm looking forward to a cultural exchange and making some new friends, End Log." I said.
As my door opened.
"Captain," Chakotay said.
"I'll be right with you," I said. "The Station manager didn't tell me the vines were prehensile. I went to put some water in the pot and it grabbed me," I said.
"This is a gift from the Kinbori Delegation, I don't know it's name, Only that it's used in one of their sacred games and it's very heavy," Chakotay said.
"Well, put it down anywhere," I said. "Thank the Kinbori for me, and give them a token of our esteem,"
"I already gave them a Voyager Medallion, They seemed appreciative," Chakotay said.
As the Door bell goes.
"Come in," I said.
As Tuvok came in.
"Doesn't it look like Christmas Morning in here, Commander," I said.
"You have to admit the generosity of our guests is very impressive," Chakotay said.
"As is their proclivity for criminal behaviour, This morning security report," Tuvok said.
"Broken ODN line, Some missing Personal Items, A damaged scanner relay. All in all not that bad," I said.
"There is a second page to the report," Tuvok said.
"Well, some of these incidents are a little more serious, But on balance, I still think we did the right thing," I said.
"There is a third Page," Tuvok said.
"Come on, Tuvok, After all the xenophobic races we've run into don't you find it just a little refreshing to meet some people who value openness and freedom," Chakotay said.
"Well as far as I'm Concerned, Opening the ship has been a fascinating experience," I said "And an unqualified success, I'm very please,"
"Me, too," Chakotay said as I tried again to put water in.
"I am please that you are pleased," Tuvok said. "If you'll excuse me,"
"Tuvok, Please accept this token of our esteem," Chakotay said. But I could see that he knew Chakotay was trying to kid them and headed out.
"Damn it, It's got me by the hair," I said. "Give me a hand,"
As Chakotay finally got me out of that.
"That's better, Fine if that is going to keep on grabbing me. It can water out," I said.
XXX
As I got to the Bridge.
"What's up," I said.
"All we know is that we've got a security breach, We don't know where," Chakotay said.
"I have it, It's Cargo bay 3," Tuvok said.
"Who is in there," I said.
"7," Tuvok said. "But I am picking up 3 other lifesigns,"
"Take a team," I said.
XXX
I was called to Sickbay to find out that the 3 of those people.
"But whoever removed their implants was a poor surgeon," Doc said. "Their internal organ were damaged during the procedure and their bodies are covered with Scars,"
"You said you recognized them," I said.
"Not at first, But when they attempted to access my memory files, I was momentarily linked with them. 2 of 9. 3 of 9, 4 of 9. We were all members of the same unimatrix," 7 said.
"Do you know why they were trying to access your memories," I said.
"No," 7 said.
"How long have they been disconnected from the collective," I said.
"3 or 4 months," Doc said. "However they are still connected to each other, Somehow the left parietal lobes of their brains have been transformed into organic interlink nodes, They've become linked together into a sort of Collective triad,"
"Revive them," I said.
As the Doc went over as I grabbed 7 a bit and headed over.
"I'm Captain McCall, We know who you are, And we know what you were trying to do, What we don't know is why," I said.
"She has information we need," 2 said.
"What kind of information," I said.
"We want to become," 2 said.
"Individuals," 3 said.
"You want to break the neural link between the 3 of you," I said.
"Wouldn't you, None of us is alone with our own thoughts our own feelings," 3 said.
"Every day of my life is spent hearing their 2 voices in my head," 2 said.
"When we're asleep, We experience each other's dreams," 4 said.
"How's that different from life in the Collective," Doc said.
"In the Collective, there are billions of voices, they become white noise," 7 said.
"But with only 3," 2 said.
"Each voice comes through clearly," 3 said.
"It has to stop," 4 said. "We must break the neural link,"
"Doc, is there anything you can do?" I said.
"The Modifications are too extensive, Their neuronal pathways have been fundamentally altered," Doc said.
"You hold the key," 2 said.
"Why?" 7 said.
"You were there with us," 3 said.
"Planet 1865 Alpha," 4 said. "You must remember,"
"8 years ago our vessel crashed, the 4 of us were the only survivors," 7 said.
"When we were reassimilated." 2 said.
"We found we'd been linked together somehow," 3 said.
"We were a subset within the Collective," 4 said.
"It's like having 3 voices whispering in one ear," 2 said.
"And a crowd screaming in the other," 3 said.
"We had to break free, So we worked together, and we finally escaped." 4 said.
"We had our implants removed in Inavar Prime," 2 said.
"But they couldn't break the neural link," 3 said.
"We need to find out what happened 8 years ago, after the crash," 4 said.
"The night we were reassimilated into the collective, We need to know how the link was created, but our memories are," 2 said.
"Fragmented, disorganized," 3 said. "We hoped that you would know,"
"I don't," 7 said. "However I am willing to attempt to retrieve the Data,"
"Doc give them a hand," I said.
"Aye captain," Doc said.
XXX
"A friendly game," I said.
"Well that's how it started." Tom said.
"I see, and perhaps you could explain to me how this friendly game turned into a street brawl?" I said.
"Well Harry and I wanted to explore the station," Tom said. "We wanted to broaden our understanding of alien cultures and,"
"Skip the recruiting speech, You were looking for a bar. Then what?" I said.
"Well, we found one and we met a pair of Kinbori who told us about this game they play with these big, odd looking rackets," Harry said.
"Look that," I said.
"Yeah," They Both said.
"In any case, they challenged us to a game and we accepted, but I guess we weren't quite aware of all the rules," Tom said.
"Because you'd been drinking," I said.
"Yes sir," Tom said. "You see we thought it was a version of tennis, but as soon as we hit the first volley, this Kinbori jumps over the net and starts his racket," Tom said.
"So we figured we were supposed to fight back," Harry said.
"Yeah," Tom said.
"And then," Harry said. "Well things got a little out of hand,"
"A little out of hand, 7 voyager crewmen including 2 bridge officers, along with 13 Kinbori and one Morphinian care owner all arrested. The charges range from disorderly conduct to assault on a security officer," I said.
"That one's not true," Harry said.
"Oh thank you Harry, I'll note that exception in my log, You're both confined to quarters until further notice, After you report to Sickbay, That's all," I said. "Well did you win,"
"oh yes sir," Tom said.
"We kicked their rackets," Harry said.
"More like their asses," I said. "Good, Dismissed,"
As 7 got here.
"Any progress?" I said.
"I've determined that we all have exactly the same gap in our memories, It seems unlikely that it would be a coincidence," 7 said.
"The Collective deliberately wiped your memories of the reassimilation process, And what happened on the planet," I said.
"It is the most likely explanation," 7 said.
"But," I said.
"The collective would not care that 4 drones remembered being reassimilated," 7 said.
"Something must have happened during the process, Something they wanted to hide from you, Let's look at this from a different perspective, Why would the Collective lock and leave them into a neural triad in the first place," I said.
"I don't know, there is no advantage to having 3 drones linked together in this manner," 7 said.
"Well they obviously did it for some reason, and I get the feeling that if we can answer that question the rest should fall into place," I said. "But I wish we could find a way to close the gaps in your memories,"
"There is a way," 7 said.
"I assume there's a reason you didn't mention it before now," I said.
"It would involve linking my neural interface to theirs," 7 said "Together we may be able to restore the missing data, However I would again be part of a group mind,"
"You're not eager to revisit that experience, What else," I said.
"There's also the possibility that I could become trapped in the neural link," 7 said.
"Turning the triad into a quartet, I won't ask you to take that kind of risk," I said.
"I do feel compelled to help them, but I am uncertain as to the correct course of action," 7 said.
"Let me ask you something, Do you think of these people as family," I said.
"Is it relevant," 7 said.
"There's an old saying, Blood is thicker than water," I said. "It means that the ties of family run deeper than any other kind of relationship, We'll often do things for members of our family We'd never dream of doing for anyone else. Which I know more than anyone. As far as I know. Whatever it is, Just be careful,"
XXX
I went to Astrometrics. Not long after the doc filled me in what happened as well as what happened by there.
"They have no hope of surviving unless they return to the collective," 7 said
"Not exactly a happy ending. is it," I said.
"No," 7 said.
"Back on that planet why do you think you reacted so differently from the rest of them," I said. "Why were you so afraid of becoming an individual?"
"When I was first assimilated into the collective, I was a child, They were assimilated as adults, When our individual memories began to resurface," 7 said.
"Yours were of bring a little girl. Scared," I said.
"I let that fear control me, After I saw the drone die in the swamp, I panicked, I began to envision my own death, Alone, Without even the sound of another drone to comfort me," 7 said.
"What really happened to you before the injected you the first time," I said.
"I saw my parents being assimilated in front of me. I saw everything they did to them. When they were done. I couldn't see an life in their eyes. My parents just walked right passed me as if I wasn't there," 7 said. "Then the drones that assimilated them, Came for me,"
"Then only thing you had since then was those damn voices in your head. The entire time. Changing everything you thought. So on that Planet," I said.
"I forced them to return I infiltrated their left cerebral hemispheres with nanoprobes and created a new interlink network, One that they couldn't resist," 7 said. "And then I eliminated the evidence of what I've done,"
"You were overwhelmed by feeling you couldn't begin to understand, You're that responsible for that, 7," I said.
"Because of what I did, they'll be forced to live the rest of their lives in the collective, For that I am responsible," 7 said.
"There's a difference between surviving and living, They'll survive in the collective, But they won't really be alive. You know that better than any of us," I said.
"There is no alternative," 7 said.
"How long would they survive if the Doc deactivated this link you created," I said.
"A month at most," 7 said.
"A month as an individual or a lifetime as a drone," I said. "Which option would you choose here and now,"
"Leah. They will die," 7 said.
"At least they will die with what they have wanted. Peace of their on mind," I said. "You know when this happened to me. If It meant I got you back again. I would go through this all over again just to bring you back,"
"Do you blame me for that," 7 said.
"No, I blame that bitch. Not you. I came for you. Because I felt the same way. And I still do. Always will," I said. "Make a choice what they would thank you for. See you later,"
XXX
7 done it. She let them go. Let them life even if it is for a month. At least they get to experience everything 7 has. 2 of them left. One stay on board for as long as she had left. As we finally had everyone back on board and Supplies also.
As Tom disconnected us from the station and we went to Warp. Headed for home again.
That's all for this chapter.
More to follow
stay tuned and safe.
Love Y'all
PEACE!