Elnor watched the light fade from Hugh's eyes, but couldn't bring himself to flee right away, and lingered for a few minutes, still clutching Hugh's hand.

It was his fault Hugh was dead. He was foolish and naive in his dealings with the Zhat Vash assassin. She tricked him as easily as if he were a child, and murdered his friend. Hugh's blood was both literally and figuratively on his hands, but there wasn't anything he could do about that now. He knew he needed to find somewhere to hide, some way to get away from this terrible place. He wanted to help save the ex-bs from being slaughtered by the Tal Shiar, but he realized he was in way over his head, and now Hugh was gone. He was alone, and he was afraid.

Elnor found his way back to Hugh's office, and curled up in a dark corner. The Fenris Ranger SOS card clutched in his palm as he prayed for deliverance. He didn't know how long he'd been on the cube. It was dark and labyrinthine. There was no way for him to keep track of time, but he was hungry, and his throat was parched. He didn't know what to do except wait for a rescue he wasn't sure would come in time or even at all. He didn't want to die here in this cold, unwelcoming place. All alone and far away from anything familiar.

Suddenly, he heard the door to Hugh's office open. He drew his tan qalanq and moved out into the open, presenting himself just as his enemies wanted him to. Something clattered along the floor towards him. He took a step back as the object came to a stop, and a sudden, bright flash of light blinded him. He instinctively brought his free hand up to shield his eyes, and felt the SOS card fall from his grasp. The first silhouette through the door was joined by several others, and they were on him. The initial blow knocked him backward. He blocked the second, but every move he made was immediately countered, and when he lost his weapon, he knew he was in real trouble. He also realized two things. They wanted him alive, and they were going to torture him.

He had information. Information he wasn't going to give them.

Now, he could feel the acidic taste of panic in his throat. His back hit the wall, more blows were exchanged. Elnor tried to launch himself off the wall and over his attacker, but the man grabbed the strap of his scabbard, and yanked him to the floor. On his back and pinned, he kicked and flailed, but his hands were bound together. His captors hauled him to his feet, and their leader approached him.

From the instant, she set foot on this cube it was obvious the place was in upheaval. The centurions were heavily armed and clustered together in tight formations. They were tense and focused. The situation was bad. The android child she had come to find was lost somewhere in this mess and was likely the cause of the overt military action. If the Romulans had discovered what Soji was, a synthetic life form masquerading as human, it would certainly provoke a reaction like this. She had come here with the expressed purpose of finding Soji and bringing her home, but now she worried she was too late.

She also hadn't expected to find what she was looking at now.

From the shadows, she watched him put up a hell of a fight, but he was outnumbered, and the Tal Shiar were ready for him. She winced as he was thrown to the floor and quickly swarmed by his attackers. He was only a boy. He couldn't be any older than twenty. His wrists were bound, and his appearance disheveled, but it was the expression in his eyes that really caught her attention. She could see how hard he was trying to be brave when he was nothing short of terrified. He didn't look like the other Romulans either. His clothes were different, and he was armed with only a modest blade.

What organic would be crazy enough to come to a place like this armed with only a sword? He looked like an assassin, but who had he come here to assassinate?

The leader of the small squadron slapped his hand hard across the boy's face. "Where is Picard?!" was the demand, but the captive remained composed, and said nothing.

Picard? As in Jean-Luc Picard? That was a name she hadn't heard in decades.

"No answer?" the leader sneered. "Suit yourself, boy. The Colonel will get it out of you."

She knew her Tal Shiar enemy well enough to know they meant to torture their captive, and she knew herself well enough to know she wasn't going to allow that to happen.

Elnor caught the movement in his peripheral vision, and then watched the stranger melt out of the blackness like a Demogorgon. His captors pulled their sidearms and opened fire. He forced himself to watch and was astounded as the stranger stood her ground, unfazed by each disruptor blast. After firing several shots each, the Tal Shiar realized their weapons were having no effect and stopped shooting. They looked at each other completely at a loss for their next move.

"Release the boy to me and leave," she growled, but nobody moved. The eerie standoff went on for what felt like an eternity until somebody next to Elnor whispered, Feeonix.

He had heard of the Feeonix before. An ancient race, dangerous, violent, and enemy to the Romulan people. Picard had spoken of them to him too, when he was a child, of one in particular. Her name was Naseema, and she loved the android, Data.

Remaining motionless, the Feeonix looked right into Elnor's eyes, and as he stared back, he felt a strange calm come over him. He'd never seen eyes like hers before. Dark blue and enormous, there was a fiery orange ring around each of her irises that seemed to glow in the dark room. She gave him a single nod, and he watched in amazement as the orange rings flared out, and filled her eyes with light.

Armed with a double-bladed quarterstaff, she exploded into action. She moved almost too fast to see, but he seized the opportunity as the woman on his left moved on him with his tan qalanq. He brought his hands up, and twisted them to catch the blade between his palms. It sliced through the binding at his wrists, and the instant they were free, he used his elbow to fling it from her grasp. Elbow again, back into her face. Hard kick to the man on his right. A spin to bring his foot down and finish the last of his captors. Now, crouched on one knee, he looked up, wide-eyed, at the strange alien who rescued him.

"Your reaction time is very impressive," she said, her voice soft and calm, and her eyes now blue again. Overwhelmed with relief and gratitude, he didn't answer her with words. Instead, he sprang to his feet and rushed toward her. He threw his arms around her, hugged her tightly, and buried his face in her hair, almost lifting her clean off the ground.

She was startled at first. It was a very un-Romulan reaction, and she almost expected him to stick a knife in her back, but to her surprise, his gratitude was genuine. She didn't even know his name, and it had been a very long time since she had accepted physical contact like this from anyone, but she allowed him to hold onto her and gently patted his back to soothe him.

When he released her from his emotional embrace, he exhaled a low sigh and looked at her. "Thank you."

"You are welcome, but we must not stay here any longer," she replied. "Once this lot fails to report, there will certainly be more." He nodded and returned his tan qalanq to its sheath. He glanced around the room, now painted green, and at the eviscerated bodies that littered the floor before following her down the corridor.

"Are you a Feeonix?" he asked, and she nodded.

"I heard them ask you where Picard went," she said. "Were they referring to Starfleet Admiral Jean-Luc Picard?"

He stopped walking and stared at her. "Do you know Picard?"

She also stopped moving, and looked back at him as a rueful expression crossed her face. "A very long time ago."

"My blade is bound to his cause," he said.

She started down the hallway again. "And what cause would that be?"

"To rescue the android girl, Soji," he replied.

She halted abruptly as the name left his lips, spun around, and grabbed his arm, hard. She looked into his eyes with such frightening urgency, she almost seemed to be glaring at him. "Do you know where she is? Is she with Picard?"

"They escaped," he told her, and unable to help himself, he asked. "Do you know Naseema?"

She searched his face for a second before dropping her eyes. "No, Naseema is dead."

He knew she was lying, and this time he grabbed her arm. He caught the flicker of anger in her eyes, but didn't let go. "Who are you?" he demanded. "If you want my help, tell me the truth!"

Her expression hardened, and she yanked her arm from his grasp. "I do not need your help, and if you want a ride off this death house, I suggest you keep up." She stalked away from him, and he called after her.

"You are Naseema, aren't you?"

Without turning around, she replied. "Are you coming or not?"

He immediately followed her, and once he caught up, she continued. "If you are being truthful, and Picard has already escaped with Soji, there is somewhere I must be."

"A Qowat Milat embraces truth and openness," he said. "I have no secrets, Soji did escape with Picard."

She paused to take in the young Romulan warrior, with his long hair, his simple clothes, and his wide-eyed innocence. Barely out of boyhood, and green as spring's first crocus, she wondered how he found his way into this situation.

Where had Picard found this young man, and what would make him think it was appropriate to bring such an inexperienced fighter to a place like this, and then leave him here on his own? The boy's skills were certainly formidable, but he'd been easily overwhelmed by the small group of operatives sent to capture him, and she shuddered to think of him trying to withstand Tal Shiar interrogation techniques. His display of gratitude, willingly throwing himself onto a complete stranger, regardless of the fact she'd rescued him from what he had to know was a dire situation, was just bizarre, and left her not knowing what to think. She had an acrimonious relationship with most other Romulans. She had been the one to negotiate the first, and only treaty between the Federation and the Romulan Empire. She spent the decades that followed as the face of the Feeonix, the Federation's ultimate weapon against hostile incursion. The Romulans hated her, but more importantly, they feared her. She suspected that fear had eventually driven them to action. The Feeonix had nearly been wiped out by the attack on Mars. Its burning atmosphere poisoned the Feeon nebula, leaving only a handful of her kind left. It remained unproven, but she, and the others, were convinced the Romulans were responsible for that attack. Perhaps they hadn't been the primary target, but their destruction was an advantageous side effect. She knew her family would believe her insane to rescue a Romulan from other Romulans. It seemed like an obvious trap, but somehow she knew this was the furthest thing from that. This young man, who she could see was still a boy in many ways, seemed completely unaware of the history between their respective peoples, and so far, he didn't exhibit any of the traits she'd come to expect of most other Romulans. Primarily, arrogance and duplicity. He triggered no internal alarms, she detected no ulterior agenda, or deceit. She was sure he was as honest as he was fresh-faced. She'd known him less than an hour, and she still didn't know his name, but she couldn't help being reminded of her past. This boy needed her help, and something told her their meeting may not be accidental happenstance.

"What should I call you?" she finally asked.

"Elnor," he replied.

"Well, Elnor," she said, "How about we get out of this terrible place?"

"We must stay and continue the fight," he said. "The Tal Shiar are murdering all the Borg here, and we have to stop them."

She frowned at the disturbing revelation. "What? Where is Hugh?" she asked, her voice now tinged with a level of concern that gave Elnor hope she would help him keep the promise he made to his dying friend. "He is the director of this project, and a federation citi-"

"Hugh is dead," Elnor interrupted, the urgency in his tone rising rapidly as he launched into his hurried explanation. "We were headed to the chamber of the Borg Queen, to take it away forever, but we were followed, and I-" Elnor's voice dropped off, and his eyes fell from hers as he made his admission. "I failed to protect him."

Her eyes widened as she caught on to what Elnor was trying to tell her. "Hugh was murdered by the Tal Shiar?"

With his eyes still trained on the floor, Elnor shook his head. "Zhat Vash. I allowed his assassin to trick me, and he paid for my failure with his life."

She took a breath to swallow her anger at the news of Hugh's slaying, knowing there was nothing she could do about it now, and suddenly very aware of how dangerous their situation was.

She didn't need to hear anymore to reconstruct the events that brought the cube to its current state. Only Jean-Luc Picard could leave chaos like this in his wake. He'd somehow discovered who and where Soji was, and loyalty to Data's memoryfueled the undoubtedly ill-conceived extraction attempt. Hugh paid the ultimate price for that nobility of spirit, and Elnor was left behind to hold the bag. The Tal Shiar were in complete control of the cube now, and she was far too outnumbered to do anything but provide more fuel for the Romulan's rage. She could see Elnor was torturing himself over events she was sure wouldn't have played out much differently regardless of what cards he held in his hand, and while she felt for him, she knew they needed to get the fuck off this cube before somebody recognized her. Things would get far worse for the two of them if that happened.

"Look at me," she instructed and waited for him to meet her eyes. "There is nothing to be done for Hugh now, and mourning him must wait. Right now, it is critical we leave."

Elnor expected rebuke for failing to prevent Hugh's murder, but found the suggestion of retreat unacceptable, and stared at her in appalled disbelief. "We can't leave!" he exclaimed. "The Tal Shiar will murder every ex-Borg they find here, and we have to save them!"

"What is it you believe I can do?" she asked, staring back at him like he was more than a few bricks short of a load.

"You're immune to disruptor fire," he insisted. "You are fast and strong, you can help me stop what is happening here."

She took a step back. "Are you crazy? Do you have any idea how many armed soldiers, and trained operatives are on this cube? We cannot fight them all with a sword and a staff!"

Dissatisfied with her lack of enthusiasm to help him keep his pledge to Hugh, Elnor glared at her. "If you are a Feeonix, you have powers, Picard has told me of them. You can use them to help us win!"

She looked at him sideways. "I do not know what you were told, but my powers are very strong, and very difficult to control. I cannot simply snap my fingers and make it happen like some asshole deity."

"Well, what can you do?" he demanded.

"I can incinerate this entire cube and everyone on it, including you, the Borg you want to save, and probably myself as well," she snapped. "Is that what you wish me to do?"

"No."

The look of sour defeat on his face made her feel guilty for her sharp refusal, but this was ridiculous.

It was obvious Elnor felt some sort of loyalty to Hugh and the reclaimed Borg, but martyring himself was truly ludicrous, and she wasn't about to die with him in the name of futility. She needed to get home, and she also needed to convince this bold, determined young man of the distinction between bravery, and stupidity, if she wanted to save his life. She knew if she left him here alone, she might as well kill him herself, and she didn't particularly want that on her conscience.

"Look, Elnor," she said with all the patience she could muster. "I am very sorry about your Borg friends, and I admire your bravery, but I cannot get involved in this. I need to be somewhere else to stop an entirely different slaughter. My mission here is moot now, and I have to leave. I will take you with me, but we must go immediately, and I strongly recommend you accept my offer."

"A Fenris Ranger is coming," he replied, as if he hadn't heard a word she just said. "I activated the SOS. If we only wait-"

She bluntly cut him off before continuing down the hallway. "I am not waiting for anything."

Suddenly three Tal Shiar operatives came through a disguised passageway, but she cut them down before they even had a chance to yell, "halt!" She turned back around to face Elnor. "They will not stop coming," she told him. "If you wish to wait for your ranger, that is your choice, but you should be aware they are stretched pretty thin, and will almost certainly be even less help to you than I, if one does manage to find you before the Tal Shiar do."

"Hugh told me I needed an ex-Borg to take control of the cube," he continued with the same foolhardy persistence that made her wonder how he was even still alive at all. "Seven of Nine will come! I know she will! We just need a little more time."

The Feeonix shook her head sadly as she realized both the full extent of the plan Elnor was determined to execute, and that he honestly had no idea of the fate he faced if he succeeded. "Do you know what will happen if the Borg on this cube are awakened?" she asked, but answered for him so quickly, there was no way for him to miss the rhetorical nature of the question. "There is only one outcome. They will assimilate everyone else on board, and then they will assimilate the closest inhabited planet, and then the next, and the next one after that. Do you see where I am going with this?"

He let out a begrudging grunt as he acknowledged her. "Yes."

"What you are proposing is profoundly dangerous."

With that, she turned and stepped over the dead operatives. His stomach growled again as he watched her walk away.

What if she was right? He would not only have Hugh's blood on his hands, but the blood of billions, and his spirit would be forever tortured for it. The Feeonix was offering him a chance to escape the immediate danger he was in, and maybe he could convince her to return once he came up with a new strategy. He wanted to save the ex-bs, he didn't believe they deserved to be victims of a covert war, but he realized he was in way over his head. This insidious place had shown him it was far more difficult than he initially believed to hold onto his courage, and he didn't want to meet the empty death he knew would come for him if he tried to continue alone. He would be a fool to stay, and he knew it.

"Wait!"

She paused to let him catch up. "Look," she said. "I know that was not an easy decision for you to make, and you don't have to like it, but you made the right one."

He knew she was right, but wanting to leave with her left a nasty feeling of guilty failure burning a hole in his gut.

He kept quiet and close to her as she wove her way through the maze of chambers and corridors, ducking into shadows to avoid being seen by others, Romulan or otherwise. She led the way to a dark, musty smelling part of the cube, by all outward appearances, it was a completely abandoned area. Elnor stayed within inches of her, silently mirroring her footsteps all the way, as they neared their destination. Then, she abruptly stopped in her tracks. He opened his mouth to speak, but she pressed her finger to his lips, and he remained silent. He watched her stand perfectly still, poised and alert, for a few brief seconds before she whispered.

"We are being followed."

Elnor's eyes widened, and he scanned the blackness for any movement. He listened for any trace of footsteps or someone breathing, but all he could hear was the almost inaudible sound of the ventilation system. The Feeonix put her hand against his chest, an indication for him to stay where he was as she stepped out of the shadows into the sickly green glow. She slunk away from him, melted into the blackness again, and then came the sounds of fists on flesh. He strained his eyes to see what was happening, but he could only make out two shadows struggling with each other. Then, those shadows spilled back into the light, and he could finally see her wrestling with an enormous Tal Shiar operative more than twice his size. The man had her by the throat and lifted her clear off the ground before he slammed her into the wall.

Elnor drew his tan qalanq, and his peripheral vision caught someone move behind him. He stayed hidden in the shadows and disappeared into the open framework above him. Three more operatives descended on his hiding place, but by the time they realized he was gone, it was too late for them. He dropped down at their backs, and with a few precise strokes, they were no longer a threat.

The Feeonix continued to grapple with the giant and exchanged repeated assaults with him. She pulled a small curved knife from a hidden sheath, but the man moved fast for his size and caught her wrist. He twisted until she dropped the weapon.

"Please, my friend, choose to live," Elnor told the big Romulan as he raised his sword in a defensive posture. No sooner were the words out of his mouth when someone else attacked him from behind. A hard blow to the back of his head. He went down on his knees, and his sword skidded away from him. Another vicious strike to his ribs, and he heard a crack as white-hot pain shot through his body. He rolled and raised his hips off the ground to pivot on his shoulders. He swung his legs around to catch his attacker's knees. He snatched up his tan qalanq, and leapt to his feet to meet his attacker face to face. They circled each other, and the operative made a move for his disruptor, but Elnor was faster and disarmed him before severing his carotid artery.

He returned to aid his new friend but only had time to witness the big man grab her around the neck, and pound her into the wall again. He held her off the ground, pulled his own knife, and drove it into her side, all the way to its hilt. The Feeonix howled with pain and rage. Elnor attacked, but the giant swung his elbow out and connected. He threw Elnor into the opposite wall. The young Romulan scrambled to his feet as she dug her thumbs into the big man's eyes. He tightened his grip around her neck, and she started to gasp. The air around her began to crackle as the orange light came back, and then she erupted into white and blue flames. Elnor watched in horror as the giant man was engulfed by the ghostly fire. Completely ablaze, the man screamed in agony, locked in the Feeonix's grip. Elnor could only stare, mouth agape, as the screams rang in his ears, and the enormous beast of a man turned to ash right before his eyes. She released her hold, and he crumbled to a pile of chalky dust as she slid back to the floor.

She winced as she pulled the knife from her body and tossed it aside. "We must go," she said, but her companion didn't respond. "Elnor," she repeated. "Elnor, we must leave, or there will be others."

He nodded slightly but was paralyzed by what he'd just witnessed and unable to move.

She took his face in her hands and forced him to look at her. "I know you are frightened," she told him. "But we are injured, and we need to leave now!"

He blinked a few times and nodded again. She took his hand and quickened her gait until they were almost running. He remained silent and compliant as she released the door to the airlock and pushed him inside. She directed him into a seat in the tiny craft and wasted no time with their retreat. Her vessel possessed a phasing cloak and, she easily evaded the fury of warbirds that swarmed around the cube. Once they were clear, she slipped the ship into subspace and put the autopilot on. Then she got out of her chair to tend to her new companion.