RAGNAROK 1
Author: Rocky

Janeway frowned. A reasonable enough question, considering their actions regarding the Tikvah. Now her first impulse was to step in and help as well, but her instincts were telling her that this wasn't just an isolated squabble. If she was right, if there was a lot more at stake-could she risk entangling Voyager in a possible Borg Civil War?

For a long moment, the internal debate waged. Then her sense of moral responsibility kicked in. "Yes, Mr. Paris, we're going in. Mr. Tuvok, stand by to fire in a rotating pulse, on my order."

She turned to Chakotay next. "Remember your hare-brained maneuver when we re-entered Borg space a few months ago?" She smiled, but there was no mirth in her eyes. "It's time for an encore."

Scant minutes later, a debris field of exploded hulls lay scattered where the flotilla of cubes had been, and Korok was hailing Voyager.

The senior staff was assembled in the briefing room when Korok entered. He walked slowly, with a noticeable limp, due to an ill-fitting prosthetic leg. His companion looked as battle-scarred as the old Klingon; Chakotay couldn't identify his species, but thought perhaps he was Brunali.

Torres stood in respect as Korok shuffled past. "nuqneH," she growled, as Tom rose as well to stand at his wife's side.

Korok halted in surprise, and studied the young woman. "tlhIngan!" He immediately switched to Federation Standard. "It has been too long since I have laid eyes on another Klingon. Not many of my people lived to be taken by the Borg at Wolf 359."

Chakotay thought he could detect a note of regret in Korok's voice that left no doubt about what he wished his own fate had been. Understandable-most people would probably choose an honored place in Sto-Vo-Kor to assimilation.

Korok continued to eye B'Elanna appraisingly. "You are with child?"

"Yes, I am," she answered patiently, even though at this point her condition had progressed to where it was evident to even a casual observer.

"May he grow to be as fine a warrior as his fathers before him," Korok intoned and gave a fearsome smile.

"I'm sure *she* will," put in Tom, placing a possessive arm around B'Elanna's shoulders.

Korok laughed and then quickly sobered as he directed his attention to the head of the conference table. "Captain Janeway."

"General Korok," Janeway replied, as she made a reasonable facsimile of the Klingon salute. "Please take a seat." She quickly made the introductions. "Commander Chakotay, my first officer, Commander Tuvok, my chief of security, Lieutenant Kim, chief of Ops, our Doctor...and you've already met Lieutenants Torres and Paris, my chief engineer and flight conn officer."

"My lead gunner, Roju," Korok said, clapping his hand on the other man's shoulder as they seated themselves. Korok looked around the room. "I do not see Annika. Does she still live?"

"She'll be joining us shortly," answered Janeway smoothly. "A last minute problem arose in her department."

Korok nodded briskly. "To business then."

"To business," echoed Janeway. "We were surprised to encounter your ship in this sector."

"No more surprised than I was to see you, Captain," he answered. "But very grateful, as once again you have stepped in to aid us in our hour of need."

Janeway inclined her head graciously, but Korok wasn't finished. "And I consider it particularly fortuitous that our paths have intersected at this particular moment in time."

"Why?" asked Chakotay. "Does this have anything to do with your reasons for firing upon those other Borg vessels?"

Janeway shot him an annoyed look, but Chakotay did not feel abashed. He knew from his years of service in Starfleet and exposure to Klingon culture that Korok would respond better to a direct question. Bluntness was cultivated as a Klingon virtue; their people believed in coming straight to the heart of a matter.

Korok smiled. "You have a shrewd second in command, Captain, who serves you well." He leaned his elbows on the table and brought his formidable hands together. "You are correct, Commander. They are related. Seven months ago, by means of your virus, you allowed myself and others like me, those who had shared in the experience of Unimatrix Zero, to remember our former lives and know ourselves once more. You also gave us the means to fight back, to strike a blow against the Collective."

Janeway nodded. "Unfortunately, the end results were not as clearly defined as we would have liked to see. Many drones were able to break their connections to the Borg, but others remain firmly ensconced within the Collective."

"Exactly," said Korok. "And that is what my mission has been, since we parted from you all those months ago. I seek nothing less than to liberate as many of those that remain enslaved as possible."

Janeway drew in a sharp intake of breath. Judging by the looks on their faces, most of the senior staff had a similar reaction.

Tuvok frowned. "That is a massive undertaking, General Korok, not to mention one fraught with risk. The Collective comprises well over one and a half billion drones. You are heavily outnumbered in terms of manpower alone, let alone ships and armaments."

"Any enterprise worthy of the name entails some risk," shot back Roju. "And we have resources and allies besides."

"We have been joined by a number of worlds the Borg have raided, who have contributed ships and soldiers for the fight," Korok added. "There is scarcely a world in the quadrant that has not encountered the Borg in the course of their history; many have been completely obliterated, whereas others have been weakened to the point of total collapse. But you would be amazed at how many of the survivors have clamored to join our cause, eager to strike a blow at their most hated enemy."

"I can certainly understand that," Janeway said as the door to the briefing room opened and Seven slipped in quietly and seated herself. "So the two ships you have with you now do not comprise the total of your strength."

"Not at all," Roju said proudly.

Korok glanced sharply at his companion. "But neither are we so strong that we are not still in need of other strong allies." He leaned forward, and fixed his piercing gaze on the captain's face. "Join us, Janeway. Help us in our quest to continue freeing drones from the Collective."

Janeway met his eyes unflinchingly. "I'm sorry, Korok, but I must decline."

"What?" said Korok, clearly taken aback by her response. "How can you refuse? It is but a continuation of what you started when you first came to Unimatrix Zero and urged us to take up arms against the Borg Collective. How can you back away now?"

"I'm sorry," said Janeway in the same steely tone. "I will continue with the policy of helping victims where I can, and will fight to defend our allies should we come across any battles. But my first responsibility is to my ship and crew; I will not commit to any aggressive moves against the Collective itself."

Korok gave a derisive laugh. "A compromise that will prove to be unworkable. Do you not see that it is for your crew's benefit that you join us? Do you think Voyager alone and unaided can stand up to the full might of the Borg?" His lip curled. "If I had not prior knowledge, I might have grounds to doubt your courage. As well as your honor."

Janeway refused to rise to the bait. "I understand that you are disappointed, Korok, but my answer remains the same."

Korok got to his feet. "Then we have nothing further to discuss." He turned to Roju. "Come, it is time we returned to the Taj. Our path is laid in front of us, and we have much to do."

Janeway settled back into her desk chair with a sigh. Without asking, Chakotay went to the replicator and brought her a cup of coffee.

She closed her eyes as she savored the brew. "Thanks. Is it that obvious?"

"How exhausted you are? Yes." He sat down in the chair opposite her and took a drink of his own tea.

"All part of the territory." She checked the chronometer. "Tuvok will be here in a few moments, so we can go over our weapons manifest. The Zornon technology has been a real Godsend, and has been working out very well, but it's only a matter of time until the Borg adapt. We need to think ahead to the next step."

"Agreed. But at least when fighting any 'disconnected' drones, we won't have to worry about the Collective as a whole making adaptations to our modified systems."

"Chalk up one for dealing with the pirates, then," she said and put her cup down. She turned to her computer terminal and tapped in a series of commands.

"Before you begin with that, Captain..." he hesitated, not quite sure how to broach the subject.

"Yes? Was there something you wanted to discuss, before Tuvok arrives?"

He decided to start with the lesser of the two evils he needed to say. "Seven of Nine."

"What about her?" asked Janeway warily.

"I'd like to know what's going on with her lately. Her behavior has been very odd. Coming late to meetings, leaving duty shifts early, avoiding any contact with Sarexa or the other drones from the Tikvah..." He paused for a moment. "Do I need to go on?"