Chapter 6 – The Stronghold
Seven stood in a pass overlooking the basin which contained the Vidiian settlement. She had arrived at the planet minutes before, directing the tetrahedron to this exact spot. Even with the advanced visual acuity her Borg implant allowed, there was little of the settlement evident and no activity present. A few scattered buildings was all. Not the "stronghold" described in the alternative universes. Perhaps without the capture of the Voyager crew and curing of the phage as in those other realities, the settlement never swelled in numbers? Of course, the events she was thinking about in the alternative timelines was still years off, and so perhaps most of the Vidiians had yet to arrive. She sighed and started back down from the pass. Around her were rolling foothills covered with a thick evergreen forest of short trees which thinned out to the north on either side of the pass. Beyond the foothills to the south were snowcapped mountains, and before that a lake reflecting the distant peaks on its surface. The tetrahedron sat incongruently beside the lake on a pebbly beach like some grotesque monument. The air was cool, but not unpleasantly so. She wasn't sure if the Vidiian settlement would have a doctor with the expertise she required, but she was determined to see her plan through. To remove all the Borg components from her body, trade the tetrahedron for another vessel, and return to Voyager and Chakotay if at all possible. As she neared the tetrahedron, she heard the whine of a decelerating craft overhead. She quickly scanned the sky and noticed a ship approaching from the south. She had a sudden sense of alarm, but that was quickly replaced with something else when she recognized it as a Federation shuttlecraft, obviously dispatched from Voyager. Was it relief? Anticipation? She had left without explanation, and had been second guessing that decision ever since. If she had really thought it through, would she have realized that Captain Janeway and the rest would come after her? Had she subconsciously counted on it? The shuttlecraft slowed and hovered for a second, and then descended to land beside the tetrahedron. Even before the engines had fully powered down, the hatch opened and three figures exited. Two stayed by the craft while the third moved with a purpose towards her. It was Chakotay, of course.
When he came up beside her, he was not angry or accusatory. He reached his hand out and touched her shoulder. "What happened?" he asked softly.
It was definitely relief that she felt. He had come for her. Seven frowned. "I panicked," she finally replied. "The Borg Queen somehow still has access to my mind. She contacted me after you dropped me off at my quarters and implied my actions were part of some sort of bigger plan. I don't know what, but I was somehow putting you in danger. I had to leave." She leaned in closer and Chakotay wrapped his arms around her. "I feel like now my actions have been scripted," she continued. "I've been working off the blueprint of these alternative universes, but perhaps they are only select ones I was allowed to see. Perhaps I've been a pawn for the Borg Queen all along."
"I don't believe that," Chakotay said. "Many of the insights you gained through your knowledge of these alternative universes have proven correct. You are using that knowledge to help others."
Seven sighed. "But the Queen implied it was all part of her plan."
"Even us falling in love?" Chakotay asked.
Seven pulled back from their embrace and looked into his eyes. What she had suspected was true after all. The joy swelling in her heart knowing that he cared for her was quickly overcome with concern. She looked to the ground. "Even that, somehow," she replied. "The Queen claimed it was all as predicted."
"But to what end? What could possibly be the Borg's plan?" Chakotay asked.
"I don't know," Seven replied.
The two people who had arrived with Chakotay on the shuttle approached. It was Lieutenant Commander Tuvok and Creman Lon Suder. "It is agreeable to see you are safe Seven," Tuvok said.
"And you," Seven replied, and then shook her head. "It's curious. In all the alternative universes, there is not one where we become friends. Colleagues yes, but not friends."
One of Tuvok's eyebrows raised. "You consider you and I are friends, despite having only met four days ago?" Tuvok asked.
"I've spent more of that time with you than Chakotay," Seven smiled back. "Yes, I hope we're friends."
"Then I am fortunate to be the Tuvok in this universe where that is the case." He then turned to Chakotay, "is it as we suspected?"
Chakotay nodded. "The Borg Queen communicated with her somehow. Implied Seven's actions were all part of a bigger plan."
Tuvok nodded curtly. "We must then try and ascertain what this plan is," he said.
"How do you propose to do that?" Seven asked.
"You actually gave me the idea," Tuvok replied. "A mind meld. More specifically, I will act as a bridge between yours and Commander Chakotay's minds. Between the three of us, perhaps we can sift through your memories of that time just before you were disconnected from the Hive Mind and discover the Borg's true intensions."
Seven turned to the last person of the group. "And you Mister Suder. How were you chosen for this away mission?"
Suder shrugged. "I requested it." He then smiled, knowing the answer was insufficient. "I begged for it, actually. I seek redemption, of course. You suggested it yourself Seven. Perhaps a redemption where I can live to enjoy it. I'll watch over you all during the mind meld to make sure nothing interferes, and if we go find the Vidiians, I think my empathic abilities will be an asset. At least I was able to convince Captain Janeway that would be the case."
"I'm glad you're here." Seven looked up into the sky. The few clouds were tinted reddish due to the K8 type star that was the primary of this system. She imagined Voyager in orbit. She looked back. "Tuvok, Lon. I need a moment with Chakotay alone before we begin."
Tuvok and Suder understood. "I will start preparing in the shuttle," Tuvok said. "Join me there when you're ready." He turned and moved back towards the shuttle and Suder followed.
Seven leaned in closer. "Chakotay," she whispered. "I don't know what's going to happen. There are no alternative universes that I know of that describe any of these events or events even remotely like it. We're far removed from other timelines."
Chakotay chuckled. "That's kind of how it usually is," he whispered back. "We don't know what the next hour will bring, let alone the next day. We just have to face it when it comes. One moment at a time."
"I'm scared," she confessed. Chakotay wrapped his arms around her again and drew her close. "I'm scared I jeopardized our future together by forcing us together prematurely. But how could I not with the knowledge I had gained?"
"That doesn't make sense," Chakotay protested.
"It does," Seven persisted. "The more I use the knowledge from the alternative universes and apply it to different times and circumstances, the more I'm moving this timeline away from the others. All the others where we are together and are happy. Our timeline is diverging more and more with each passing moment. Each of my decisions."
"Even so," Chakotay replied. "We can still be happy in this timeline. Our future is still ours to determine in this timeline. It is not preordained or predestined. It is exactly what we make of it from this moment on."
Seven turned her head and looked back towards the lake. On the far side was a rise in the bank and flattened out on top. "In those alternative universes," Seven mused, "the other Sevens and the other Chakotays would wonder about building a cabin about this lake. Exploring the surrounding forest for evidence of prior civilizations. It seems so idyllic. And yet now, so unreachable."
"I don't know about that," Chakotay said. "I like the idea of a cabin about a lake. Who knows, if we get back to the alpha quadrant using the tetrahedron…"
"No," Seven protested. "We have to get rid of everything that is Borg. It's why I came here. As long as I have anything of the Borg, they will be able to find me. To find us."
Chakotay nodded. "We figured that's why you were coming here," he said. "Let's try and discover the Borg's true intensions first. One step at a time. Once we figure that out, together, we can decide what to do next. It might not be to get rid of the tetrahedron or seek the Vidiian's help."
"You think the mind meld might help?" Seven asked.
Chakotay shrugged. "I don't know, but if there are answers to be found buried in your subconscious, it can't hurt to try and find out."
Seven seemed reluctant to move, and Chakotay wasn't going to force her. Beyond the ships, the lake beaconed. "Let me hold on to this for a moment longer," she finally said. If only she could retreat with Chakotay to that hypothetical cabin. There were precedents in the alternatives for a life such as that. But, was that what she really wanted? Grasping at possibilities already played out in a multitude of realities? This knowledge of the possible futures was more a curse than a blessing. It had allowed her to find Chakotay, but perhaps that had been inevitable anyway. Now, it hampered her ability to find her own way. With each new application of the alternative universe knowledge, they moved further from the intended timeline. And what did that mean anyway? Who determined what was intended and what was not? She sighed and pulled away from Chakotay. At least, for the time being, Chakotay would be at her side and they would face the challenges together. "Okay, I'm ready."
They moved over towards the shuttle. Suder was standing beside the hatch. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on things."
Seven and Chakotay nodded and entered the shuttle. Tuvok was sitting facing forward on the third chair behind the two pilot chairs. His eyes were closed in mediation, his hands out front, fingers touching. The pilot's chairs had been swiveled to face backwards, and it was obvious this was where Tuvok wished for Seven and Chakotay to sit. They took their positions and waited.
Tuvok opened his eyes as soon as they had settled. "Before we begin, you should know that I have never actually performed a bridging of two minds," he said. "However, I once observed a Vulcan master perform the technique. I am reasonably confident I can duplicate his success. As the conduit, I'll be aware of both your perceptions. If something goes wrong or if Mister Suder alerts me of trouble, I'll break the meld immediately."
"Understood," Chakotay and Seven replied in unison.
Tuvok took his hands and placed one on Chakotay's face and the other on Seven's. He then closed his eyes again and breathed deeply. "Your minds to my mind. Your thoughts to my thoughts. Your minds to my mind. Your thoughts to my thoughts."
Suddenly Seven found herself back at the table in Chez Sandrine's with Chakotay. A happy memory, and yet not quite just her own memory. She could also hear Chakotay's thoughts and see his perspective from the same time. His feelings and impressions of her intermingled with her feelings and impressions of him. The blossoming love they shared. She stepped outside her body and could visualize her current-self as she simultaneously experienced the combined memory of their dinner together. She turned and saw a facsimile of Chakotay's current-self beside her.
We enjoyed our time together too, but we need to access our memories from before we were severed from the Hive Mind.
As if on cue, the two now found themselves in the Queen's chamber aboard a Borg vessel. A cacophony of voices filled the space, each voice insistent, but just below the level of discernibility. Seven's current-self recoiled. Nine drones stood in a circle about the room with the Queen in the front. Seven was one of the drones. This is during the assimilation of the Brunali world. We were not there, of course, but we were several hundred light years distant. This is when we first became aware of the knowledge of the Steward. As they watched, the nine drones and the Queen remained motionless. After a time, however, there was something different. There's not as many voices. We're being cut off from the Hive Mind even now. And then an imperative. Report to a tetrahedron and await instruction.
That was not common for us.
No. It is the first time we were ever sent alone on a tetrahedron.
And all we did was wait.
They now found themselves on the tetrahedron. Seven sat idle at the controls. On sensors there was a Borg cube nearby. The voices persisted, but were muted. We waited.
The next memory, Seven opened her eyes. She knew of all the alternative histories. Different realities and varied timelines. There were no other voices. She was alone. Accessing sensors confirmed that no other Borg vessels were in her vicinity. A new imperative entered her mind. An imperative to find Chakotay.
We were on the tetrahedron for days.
Yes, and then we went to find us.
They were back in the Queen's chamber. The time of the Steward's assimilation.
The answer lies here.
The voices were many and persistent. They concentrated on this memory. Replayed it over and over. The nine drones standing ramrod straight about the periphery of the chamber. The sickly green light inside the Borg vessel pulsing with the voices. Was this their existence for so long? The Borg vision of perfection and applying that perfection to the Galaxy. And within that, a mindless and expendable drone, and yet also a valued member of the Collective. More so here in Unimatrix Zero-One with the Queen. The Queen and her attendants sat idle as well until needed. The first among billions, and yet just a cog in the machine of the Collective as all the other drones. A neuron within the Hive Mind.
It's bigger than just us.
There are many more alternative realities that do not involve us that we are unaware of.
Thousands more.
Tens of thousands more.
Only a fraction were revealed to us.
Seven's current-self concentrated more on the voices, on the time just after the Steward was assimilated. Although she and Chakotay were not a common thread to all the alternatives, there was something else. Something just below the surface of consciousness on the verge of recollection. The Hive Mind became aware of Unimatrix Zero almost immediately and reacted instantly and not eight days later. There was something else as well. A common thread on the verge of discovery.
The Queen's chamber faded, and they were suddenly back in the shuttle. Tuvok had evidently broken the link. He turned back to the open hatch. "What is it Mister Suder?"
"Voyager just contacted us," he replied, glancing behind himself as if suspecting someone would be there any moment. "Thirty Borg cubes have just entered orbit and are surrounding the planet." The three in the shuttle all rose and joined Suder outside. It was as before, no indication of what was arriving above.
"Did the Borg manipulate me to lure us here?" Seven wondered. "To destroy Voyager."
Tuvok shook his head. "Illogical. The Borg could have intercepted Voyager at any time. They possessed the same knowledge as you did Seven. Even more as we've just found out. There's a piece missing that we do not yet understand."
Seven was wondering what they should do next, when any such decision became moot. In front of them and surrounding them, transports initiated and Borg drones began to appear. First a dozen or so in their immediate vicinity, but then within a few seconds, over a hundred. The pebble beach by the lakefront, on either side of the shuttle and tetrahedron, and into the pass to the north, the drones arrived and stood waiting. A final transport revealed the Borg Queen, her artificial appearance discordant with the late afternoon sun. She surveyed the area with a curious expression, perhaps the first time ever appearing on the surface of a planet, her machinations usually occurring inside a Borg vessel in deep space. She then returned her attention to the four by the shuttle and moved over. "Here we all are," she purred. "Together at last."
"For what purpose?" Tuvok asked defiantly.
The Queen appeared disappointed. "You don't know?"
"I think I do," Chakotay said, speaking for the first time since the end of the mind meld. "At least, I think I know what the Borg is afraid of."
The Queen perked up a bit. "Oh Seven, we knew he was the right one for you. It's why I'm here and not anywhere else. Please Chakotay, enlighten us."
Chakotay gestured about. "This moment, this time in all of the alternative universes represents the pinnacle of Borg civilization. In the other timelines I'm familiar with, the ones you allowed Seven to remember, the Borg inexorably descend into Civil War or oblivion from this point forward. By some means or another, within a hundred years or less, a blink of an eye by comparison to the timescale of the universe, the Borg are gone."
"Not a happy thought," the Queen replied icily.
"And I glimpsed in Seven's memories the truth," Chakotay continued. "It's the same for all the alternative universes revealed to you. The end of the Borg Collective, the death of the Hive Mind. That is what you fear most."
The Queen's smile never left her face. Eventually, she raised her hands and clapped softy. "Bravo, Chakotay, bravo. The two of you are truly so much more together than apart." She stopped and let her hands fall back down to her side. The silence was heavy with anticipation. "We spent eight days analyzing the alternatives. Millions of them. And in all, the Borg are eventually destroyed. Whether immediately, or in a hundred years, or in a thousand. Eventually, the Hive Mind died. The more it appears the Borg worked to consolidate its power in some alternatives, the faster its eventual demise. The more it appears the Borg worked to expand its power in other alternatives, the fate was simply the same." She frowned now, and again looked up to survey the surroundings. The hundred or so drones that had accompanied her had not yet moved. Each stood idle awaiting direction. The Queens expression was now haunted and she returned her attention to the others.
"You might say, our destruction was inevitable."
