The atmosphere in sickbay was muted. It wasn't everyday that a ship lost its first officer, or someone as young as Commander Madden. Dr. Crusher, Captain Picard, and the now XO Commander Worf sat in Crusher's office, discussing the incident.

"What happened, Dr.?" Picard queried, both solemnly and wearily. Between the near-crippling attack and Madden's sudden and unexpected death, Picard and crew were nearing their limit. Crusher looked even worse, the dark circles under her eyes betraying her fatigue through the brave front she was displaying to her commanding officer.

"Guinan called us down to the lounge, told us that Madden had collapsed," Crusher began, " When we arrived, I determined that he was suffering a massive cardiac episode and we initiated emergency transport. Upon arriving here, he became unconscious as we attempted to determine the cause of the problems. A few seconds later, his vitals started dropping." Crusher brought her hands to her face and rubbed her eyes before continuing, "He-he bolted upright, and said that there was something beautiful between life...and death. Then, he simply...passed away. All attempts at resuscitation were unsuccessful." Worf latched on to Crusher's last sentence.

"What? What did he mean by 'something beautiful'?" he asked, but Crusher merely shook her head. "I have no idea, and no way of determining it."

"Guinan to Picard," the comm system interrupted the somber moment in the office. Puzzled, Picard tapped the comm badge on his uniform tunic. "Go ahead Guinan."

"Captain...Jean-Luc, I need to see you in my quarters. It's...it's about Commander Madden." Picard rose slowly from his chair, adjusting his uniform as he did. "I'll be there shortly. Picard out." The three friends looked at each other quizzically, apparently having also sensed the heavy desperation in Guinan's summons. "Do you want me to come with you?" she asked, already knowing the answer. Picard simply shook his head, a faraway look on his face.

"There's too much confusion here," he intoned, "and it's time we got to the bottom of it." With that, he turned and walked out of the office.

***

The stars looked somehow...different to Guinan. The tiny pinpoints of light hurtled past the Enterprise at warp speed, just as they had done countless times before, but now something was off. Guinan had seated herself on an overly large throw pillow beneath the window that dominated the port wall of her quarters. When Picard had asked her to come aboard the Enterprise following the battle with Shinzon, she had specifically chosen these quarters. The room was in close proximity to the forward lounge for one, but the most important reason for her selection had to do with the amazing view that the window provided. She had found herself many a time in her off-hours just sitting on this large pillow and gazing out into the void. It calmed her.

Now though, things seemed altered. Though in her mind she knew that this was the same vista she had beheld in the past, her heart told her that it wasn't, that something very fundamental about it had changed drastically. She couldn't put her finger on what, though. Sighing to herself, she rose from her seat and walked wearily over to the food replicator situated on the opposite wall, adjacent to the door to her quarters. As she was about to order something, her door chime sounded. Picard had arrived.

"Come in, Jean-Luc," she said. A second later the doors parted with a familiar hiss, allowing Captain Picard to enter the room of his oldest friend. "I was just about to get a drink," she said, smiling weakly at him, "would you like something?"

"No, thank you," Picard responded. Guinan started to speak into the replicator, but paused. She moved away from the replicator and toward a small liquor cabinet near the portal leading to her bedroom. Smiling to herself, she removed a medium-sized bottle and two small glasses. Still smiling, she turned to face Picard, who was now as enraptured with the view beyond her window as she had been moments before.

"How about now," she asked coyly, holding the bottle out for Jean-Luc to see. He stepped closer to examine the proffered beverage.

"Aldebaran whiskey," he said, mirthlessly returning her smile, "well, if that's what you're offering, I could certainly use a drink after today." Guinan's smile disappeared, and she lowered her head in reverence of Picard's fallen comrade. A moment later, she set the glasses on a small table, removed the stopper from the bottle and poured their drinks. She gave one of the glasses to Picard and gestured for him to sit on a small sofa near the window. She in turn retired to the over-sized throw pillow, opposite Picard. There would be no toast, not that Commander Madden didn't deserve one. Now just wasn't the time. Guinan decided to tell Picard the reason for her summons.

"I was tending bar in the lounge when it happened. One minute he was fine, the next he had fallen to the floor, gasping for air. I rushed over...and saw-" she trailed off, her gaze drifting towards the window. Picard stared at her, concern showing visibly on his face. After taking a few seconds to recover, she began speaking again.

"There was someone there, someone I had never seen before. She was there...then she wasn't...I- I don't know quite how to explain it, but there was something about her. She's dangerous, Jean-Luc, and she has a plan." At this, Picard stood.

"Who is she, Guinan?" he asked, a dark look of apprehension glazing his features. What she said next made Picard's stomach lurch.

"The one we've been waiting for. The one who will deliver humanity from the gravest threat it's ever faced...itself."

***

"And the one, separate from the twelve, will rejoin his people, ready to begin life anew in the arms of the seven. The ones more machine than flesh will be torn asunder and a new age will dawn for the thirteenth...until the awakening of the five...the five...the five...the five...the five...

...End of Line...

Martin had been sitting, listening to the Hybrid for...hell, he didn't even know how long he had been down here. He let her words wash over him, seeping into his being, flooding his consciousness, trying to grasp the deeper meaning behind every phrase, every syllable. Leoban was right, everything the Hybrid said had a deeper meaning. He knew that the other models didn't share in the Leoban's mysticism towards the greater universe, but he found it hard not to recognize patterns in the words the hybrid spoke.

It had been silent for a while now, after acknowledging Martin's presence with its "and the one..." line. Applying what he had learned in his time with the humans to the Hybrid's vocalizations, Martin had determined that the "ones of like mind, more machine than flesh" had to be the Borg, the vicious cybernetic collective that had been threatening the humans Federation for close to two decades. Martin was trying to ascertain why the Cylons, or this hybrid in particular, would know anything about the Borg when the Three had entered the chamber.

"Hello, Martin," she said, smiling at him from across the Hybrid's pool. He looked at her and returned her greeting.

"Hello, Three. What brings you to this neck of the basestar?" he asked jovially, motioning for her to join him at his side. She walked towards him, her footsteps echoing around the room. Stepping to his side, she smoothed her long white skirt and knelt down.

"Well, I suppose I was curious. I mean, you've been with us for a few days now and most of that time has been spent with this living riddle. Have you been able to glean anything from it's ramblings?" she half-chuckled. Martin's laughed softly, "actually, not a whole lot. Since I came down here, she just seems to be repeating the same grouping of sentences over and over, something about 'the ones more machine than flesh' and 'the awakening of the five'. I can decipher some of it, but these five...what are they? Do you know anything about them?" The Three's demeanor faltered at the mention of the five, and Martin could tell that he had hit a nerve.

"We don't talk about them," was all that she said. Madden decided to let the matter pass for now, but vowed to himself that he would eventually have an answer to that question. "Tell me," she said, attempting to change the subject, "what was it like, living among humans, especially this particular lot. I've read the reports, that they're more evolved than the Colonials, both technologically and socially, but I want to hear what you have to say." Martin decided to answer her question with another.

"Where are we, to you, right now?" Three was momentarily puzzled, but comprehension dawned and she said, "do you mean what am I projecting right now?" At Martin's nod of his head, she continued, "it's funny you should ask. As much distaste as I have for the colonies, I'm actually on the Observation level of the Caprica News building. It sounds stupid, I know, but the view out those windows is breathtaking to say the least. Why, where are you?" Martin smiled. "I'm on the Enterprise. Say what you will about becoming too attached to the mission, but there's something...comfortable about that ship. I almost feel more at home there than I ever have on any base ship. That generally sums up my experience over there. I just want to be back there, interacting with the crew, compiling the daily duty rosters, conferring with department heads, just being part of such a well-oiled machine."

"But you can have all of that here," remarked Three, standing and motioning around the room, "what makes this...Enterprise so different from a basestar?" Martin was about to respond when the room shook violently. An alarm sounded throughout the ship, causing the crimson illumination along the walls of the chamber to pulsate in time with the droning wail. Three glanced nervously at Martin before hurriedly exiting the room. Martin shot out of his sitting position and dashed after her, leaving the Enterprise behind in favor of the more easily navigable basestar corridors.

Keeping up with Three's brisk pace, the two eventually arrived in the basestars' massive situation chamber. With Three's arrival, representatives of seven Cylon models were now present, well, eight including Martin, though to his knowledge there were no other copies of his model. He stepped purposefully up to stand between a Six and an Eight at a large station through which flowed a bioelectric fluid that the Cylons used as a sort of command and control interface.

"What's going on?" he asked no one in particular. The One looked at him with contempt. The Ones had been against the creation of another Cylon for the purpose of intelligence gathering of the Federation humans, citing that they were too far away to be of any significance to Cylon operations. They had been voted down by every other model.

"None of your concern, Madden." Martin could tell by the tone and ire in this one's voice that this One was definitely Cavil. Six glared across the table at the grizzled old man. "Oh for God's sake, Cavil," she exclaimed, rolling her eyes. To Martin, she said "three ships appeared on our DRADIS, configuration unknown. Whatever they are, they tore through our outer defenses and are now commencing an all-out assault on our home-world." Six returned her attention to the information flowing through the pool as the ship rocked with another blast of weapons fire. Madden decided to see their attackers for himself, and stepped forward to thrust his hands into the pool.

The sensation was almost overwhelming. It had been years since he had shared in this intimate process with his brothers and sisters, and even with the impending doom surrounding them, he felt at peace. Then he heard the voices.

"Vessel 011976 on intercept with Species 9025. Assimilation protocols active.

"Destruction of all Species 9025 defenses is authorized. Additional directive is to assimilate planet."

"Target lead ship with all cutting beams. Fire!"

That last voice. Martin blanched visibly, causing the Eight in attendance to take notice.

"Martin? What's wrong?" Martin started trembling. He removed his hands from the liquid and staggered back a few paces. All of the Cylons present turned to look at him, questioning expressions dotting their faces.

"Jump the ship," he said. When no one responded, he growled, "jump the god damn ship, now!" The exertion caused him to collapse to the deck. The Cylons went about the task of implementing the directive. Two centurions lumbered over to him, servos clanging as they went. They pulled him to his feet, and once they were assured that he wouldn't fall again, they returned to their original positions. Three stepped up to stand beside him.

"What did you see?" she asked, visibly concerned. He looked at her for a brief moment. It was her voice that he had heard.

"Two of the attackers are baseships," he managed to blurt out, causing most of those in attendance to gasp softly. "The other is-" Martin was cut off when another blast rocked the ship sending most of the room's occupants sprawling to the ground. Martin thought that this was it, that everything was coming to an end. That was when he felt the familiar sensation of a vessel lurching to light speeds beneath his collapsed frame.

***

"One of the vessels managed to escape, my Queen."

The voice of her trusted advisor echoed throughout the Borg Queen's chamber. The Queen smirked, a human expression that she regretted instantly. This was why they were here. To rid themselves of the shackles of individuality, and here she stood, freely acknowledging what she once was. Dismissing such thoughts, she turned to her advisor.

"Not unanticipated, three of twelve. Once we are done here, and our drones have begun rebuilding the infrastructure of this world, we will seek them out...and destroy them." Pleased with her response, the advisor turned and left the Queen's chambers. The Queen returned to what she had been doing earlier.

On the massive screen before her, the Queen watched the chaos unfolding around her. Oddly shaped vessels exploding in great plumes of fire, quickly extinguished by the vacuum of space. Fighter craft strafing and yawing, desperately attempting to hold off the inevitable. This was what she had been missing. The feeling of watching a civilization be reborn around her. Yes, she would take this species. Make them whole. Make them part of her collective. Make the Borg strong again. These Cylons would be her shock troops, tearing the galaxy asunder, paving a path towards her ultimate goal.

She turned her attention to another screen, this one displaying a large planet of blue and green, metallic satellites jockeying for position in its orbit. The planet that had given birth to the one who had nearly destroyed of the Borg Collective.

Earth...


A thank you to those of you who have read and commented on this story. I've been trying to stay on a release schedule, but life keeps getting in the way. I encourage anyone who has read this story to please review. I will appreciate any comments or criticisms you may have. Look for the next chapter to be released sometime in the next couple of weeks.