Chapter 4 – Transformation

Annika edged a little closer to Chakotay. The group in front of them waited expectantly for her to answer. The one who had addressed her by name was looking at her with an intensity that made Annika uncomfortable. He had spoken to her as if he knew her. A familiarity that seemed out of place… He was not human, and yet, he did seem so familiar, but as to why that should be the case alluded her.

I don't know why he's looking at us like that.

I'm not sure I like the way he's looking at us either.

Fortunately, Kes stepped forward instead, apparently oblivious to the growing tension. In fact, her continence was quite the opposite, almost beaming with joy. "Axum," she said addressing the person directly, "It's good to meet you." She then turned to the other two in the group who stood closest to them, "General Korok, Lieutenant Hernandez. My name is Kes. I'm an Ocampan serving aboard a Federation starship in the Delta Quadrant and we've come for a visit."

"How do you know us?" Axum asked.

"I just do."

Yes, they are all so familiar. Perhaps we do know them after all, but how is that possible?

"Voyager," Korok exclaimed with apparent disgust. The Klingon smiled showing his crooked teeth, although it was a humorless grimace. He turned to the human Kes had addressed as Lieutenant Hernandez next to him and grunted. Hernandez was wearing a Star Fleet uniform, although just moments before she had been in more casual clothes. The change had occurred instantaneously. Annika noticed that both she and Chakotay were still in their uniforms from when they were in the Jeffries tube enacting the repairs to the plasma relays and wondered if that had something to do with it.

"So it is true," Hernandez replied nodding, seemingly lost in thought for a moment. She turned back to Kes, but then addressed Chakotay. "We have such fragmented memories from the outside world Commander. Our designations. Bits and pieces only. It's hard to know what is truly going on in the rest of the Galaxy. There was talk of Voyager in recent weeks."

"So you actually tried to forge an alliance with the Borg?" Korok interjected. He sounded disgusted by the prospect.

Chakotay eyed the Bat'leth in Korok's hand before responding. "That's correct," he replied calmly. "To combat an invading species from fluidic space that threatened all life in our Galaxy, although we were unaware it was the Borg who had initiated the conflict."

"Species eight four seven two," Axum said, emphasizing each word, and then shook his head and sighed as if in disbelief.

"You shouldn't have trusted them," Korok bellowed. "Fools! The Borg can never be trusted!" He glared at Chakotay and eyed his uniform and rank insignia. "And who are you? Commander…"

"I'm Commander Chakotay, Voyager's First Officer, and this is Annika Hansen, a recent addition to our crew."

Axum looked even more annoyed by Chakotay's response, if that was possible. "We know who Annika is," he said curtly. "We know the alliance collapsed, but we didn't realize Voyager had been assimilated in the process."

"What makes you think we were assimilated?" Chakotay replied.

"You are here."

"Don't you see Commander, they are all still drones" Kes interrupted and then looked about. "This is a virtual construct they occupy during times of their regeneration. In truth, they are scattered about the quadrant. About the Galaxy." She settled looking back and forth to Chakotay and Annika with a large grin. "Isn't it marvelous?"

"You are not drones as well?" Axum asked.

Annika shook her head. "I was recently liberated from the Hive Mind when the Voyager crew severed my interlink with the Borg," she said.

"We have avoided their vessels ever since," Chakotay added. "The rest of Voyager's crew were never assimilated."

This appeared to distress Axum. "It is as you suspected," Lieutenant Hernandez said. "That's why she's been missing for the past week."

"And the Borg let you go?" Korok asked incredulous. "Just like that?"

"Not exactly, but we've alluded them thus far," Chakotay responded. "Although, we are still in their space."

Korok laughed. "Not exactly," he repeated, and then shook his head. "Borg space is vast and they are undoubtedly looking for you then. You are still in grave danger."

"You're all drones?" Annika asked, still trying to absorb this new bit of information.

"We call it Unimatrix Zero," Hernandez explained and gestured to the surrounding forest "As Kes said, we come here during our regeneration cycles. We can exist as individuals here. Only about one in a million drones have the recessive mutation that allows it. We retain some information from the real world when here, but nothing of Unimatrix Zero when we're back with the Borg." She paused and looked at Annika more closely. "And you don't remember any of us?"

They do look so familiar.

And this place. It makes sense.

"Should we?" Annika asked tentatively instead.

"You also had the recessive mutation and came here to Unimatrix Zero during regeneration," Hernandez continued. "You essentially grew up here. You and I have been friends for several years, since I was assimilated at Wolf 359. My name is Laura." She waited for a few seconds and then shook her head. "You don't remember."

"No," Annika said. "I'm sorry, we don't."

Although we do remember something.

I know.

"That can be fixed," Kes said. Both Annika and Chakotay turned to her quickly. "Like I told you before, I can see in your minds the source of your problem. It's like a switch. A switch I can turn on and off."

"Stay out of our mind!" Annika said, and moved even closer to Chakotay. He instinctively wrapped his arm around her.

If she can help us…

I'm not certain.

We're okay. She wouldn't do anything knowingly to harm us.

I know.

But the thought of someone manipulating their minds was unsettling, particularly to Annika. She had spent most of her life not fully in control, and now the added revelation she once existed in this Unimatrix Zero. Grew up here, as Lieutenant Hernandez had just said. It perhaps explained why she was able to adjust to life on Voyager with the maturity and mind of an adult and not just that of an assimilated child or a Borg drone. An adult, however, with no memory of her adult life. Additionally, the hostility from Korok and Axum were palatable. There must be a history with one or both that they were unaware of. Chakotay decided to change the subject. "The cube that destroyed the Federation fleet at Wolf 359 was itself destroyed," he mused and turned to the one person in the group who didn't seem angry or upset. "How did you survive Lieutenant?"

Hernandez frowned. "I don't know for certain Commander," she replied. "I believe most everyone who was assimilated during the battle was dispatched on a sphere back to Borg space."

"Between the Battle of Wolf 359 and the final engagement near Earth," Chakotay surmised.

"Precisely sir."

"But to what end?"

Expansion and conquest. More drones.

Laura shrugged. "I suppose for assessment of future drone reservoirs for the Borg to exploit. Fortunately, they have yet to utilize the alpha quadrant for such purposes, at least that we know of."

As Annika had guessed. "That's a sobering thought," Chakotay replied.

"So why are you here now?" Axum asked, his irritation still evident and uninterested in the current conversation. "How did you get here?"

"I brought them here," Kes stated. "Annika and Chakotay are still tethered to Unimatrix Zero. We were curious about the forest here. What it looked like. I can see the connections beyond the subatomic."

Korok snorted. "There is nothing beyond the subatomic."

Kes closed her eyes, as if to better visualize what she was saying. "There's more than you can imagine," she said with rapture. "Tendrils of consciousness. Shifting and connecting. All of existence to higher dimensions." Her expression suddenly changed, as if she was now seeing something unpleasant. "The Borg are looking for you," she added ominously.

"Who?" Korok asked.

"The Borg know nothing about Unimatrix Zero," Axum retorted.

"You're wrong," Kes said. "They know of an anomaly infecting some drones and are working on a way to detect this place. They are perhaps years off, but their work continues and is systematic. They will find you."

"How could you know what the Collective is thinking?" Annika asked.

Kes paused and considered the question. "Not so much what it is thinking," she finally said. "But I can see the changes about the periphery of this virtual construct enacted by them. The connections. The two are inexorably linked, for it is the Hive Mind that makes Unimatrix Zero possible." She then laughed and smiled broadly again. "I can see everything."

"This is absurd!" Korok stated.

"But if the Borg know of our existence," someone else in the crowd said. "We're not safe here anymore."

"We're not safe anywhere," someone else chimed in with alarm.

"We need to retain our memories of Unimatrix Zero when we are drones," another said. "That's the only solution."

"It's too dangerous."

"But our plan…"

The crowd that had gathered in the clearing was becoming agitated.

Chakotay looked at Laura. "What plan is he talking about?" he inquired.

"A way to retain our memories outside of this construct," Laura replied.

Korok grunted. "A dangerous plan, but we could at least try to escape the Borg. Die with honor."

"How would you do this?" Chakotay asked.

Korok looked to Axum and Axum shook his head. He seemed reluctant to say. "Impossible for us at this time," he finally replied. "Not trapped here in Unimatrix Zero. But we have developed an algorithm. A virus of sorts. Some of us, with the required expertise. If we could deliver it to the Hive Mind, it would theoretically enable us to retain our memories of this place when we were done regenerating."

"But it would also expose us to the Hive Mind," Laura said. "There would be no turning back. It is likely Unimatrix Zero would be destroyed."

"If the Hive Mind is close to discovering this place anyway, what difference…"

"Wait. Look at her face!" Korok said with alarm, cutting off Axum and the rest of the murmuring that had persisted in the crowd. Everyone turned to look at Kes. Her face appeared to be glowing and seemed to deform and become translucent in flashes. Her breathing was labored.

Both Annika and Chakotay reached out to support Kes and spoke simultaneously. "Kes, what's wrong?"

Kes sighed. "It's starting to happen."

"What's starting to happen?"

"The transformation. I'm having difficulty holding this form."

What does she mean?

Many in the group began to back away. In addition to Annika and Chakotay, only Korok, Laura, Axum and a handful of others closest to Kes stayed still, transfixed by the apparent transformation of the young woman before them. The space itself about her body appeared to shimmer and waver, as if distorted somehow. A distortion in the fabric of space-time.

"We have to go," Kes managed to say. "We have to return."

There was no time for Annika or Chakotay to respond. As before, there was a brief feeling of weightlessness, as if falling, and then a flash. The afterglow of the burst of light faded and they found themselves back in the Jefferies tube, Kes now seemingly back to normal and unconscious in Annika and Chakotay's arms. They lowered her gently to the deck plating. Her features began to settle, no longer waving, glowing or translucent. The nature of Kes' sudden transformation and back again unknown. Only then did Annika and Chakotay realize they were not alone.

"Where in Gre'thor are we now!" Korok thundered.

Simultaneously, the klaxon sound of Red Alert blared through the ship's speakers. "Intruder alert. Intruder alert. Six Borg biosigns detected in Engineering. Security to Jeffries tube thirteen alpha section twelve. Intruder alert!"

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Author's note: Sorry it's taken so long to get this chapter posted. Slowly but surely... Thanks for sticking with it, and as always, thanks to all who have left reviews.