"Captain, are you still there?" questioned Tuvok.
"Yes," Janeway replied. "We were becoming quite concerned Tuvok. You have been in your trance for quite some time. Did your meditation reveal anything?"
"I believe so Captain. Although I was unable to retrieve any of the missing memories, I am however convinced those memories still exist."
"How so?" asked Janeway while again trying to twist her head in the general direction of his voice. It was a reflex action but due to the restraints this would only result in an injury if she were not careful.
"When I reached a state of Somm-Narr," explained Tuvok, "I first attempted to access earlier memory centres starting with my childhood on Vulcan. I was successful. Gradually I progressed through key points in my lifetime, such as graduating from Starfleet or serving on the Excelsior with Captain Sulu. Eventually I progressed to a point approximately one week ago. However, all efforts to access any further details from this period were blocked."
"Blocked? How?" asked Paris.
"By a powerful telepathic force. I could not discern if the source was from a sentient being or via a technological device. However I was unable to break through its defences."
"But if you were unable to break through, then how do you know these memories still exist?" asked Paris.
"Logic, Mr. Paris. Why use telepathy to block access to memories that do not exist?"
"There is that I suppose," admitted Paris. "So what now?"
"I would suggest the first course of action is to describe what has occurred on Terak Nor while I was meditating."
Janeway quickly explained what they had witnessed on Deep Space Nine. As their view of the proceedings had been confined to the events which transpired in the conference room, this had been limited to Chakotay's discrete discussions with Seven and Neelix. Once the Deep Space Nine personnel had returned with Torres, Janeway and Paris had been cut off from their unique virtual conference, leaving them with blackness. Paris had commented if this was a holo-novel then it had quite a good beginning but now was becoming a little boring.
Joking aside Janeway was far from bored. Her crew were about to make a risky escape attempt against Starfleet officers who were looking for any excuse to lock them all up and throw away the key. She thought it had been frustrating enough to see what was going on without any means of interaction. Once this limited involvement had been removed she felt even more helpless. For now, they seemed to be out of options.
In a cargo bay on Deep Space Nine, Seven of Nine was finalising her preparations. Hooking a cable from the regeneration chamber into the power matrix of the transporter, she created a simple power feed line and began to divert power from the chamber into the transporter.
Seven kept the power drain to a minute amount, simulating the normal required levels for regeneration. While the transporter was gradually powering up, she felt tentatively for the edges of the shield perimeter. Once located, she placed a small device as close to the shield as possible without any direct contact. The device was crude at best; constructed from various parts of the chamber it resembled a miniature Tricorder.
Returning to the transporter, Seven programmed in the two sets of co-ordinates provided by the strange Ferengi, then waited for sufficient power for before diverting the feed directly into the device. Once the device gained full power it automatically activated.
Earlier Seven had generated a new series of nanites whose sole purpose was to convert themselves into sodium atoms. These atoms now existed in the air of the cargo bay in the form of a fine mist.
The device magnetically extracted and trapped these atoms, cooling them to several million degrees of absolute zero in the process. A coupling beam shot out of the device, connecting to the shield which began to glow a hazy blue colour. The converted sodium atoms passed through the beam into the shield, causing it to undergo a process of electro magnetically induced transparency. This process changed the shield frequency from one of a solid force, to a field which objects could pass through without any resistance. Unfortunately due to the size of the device, the beam could only be sustained for a few seconds before a fresh supply of sodium atoms were required.
Seven did not have the resources to construct a larger device. There was also not enough time to transport an object as large and as complex as a human being before the shield reformed. However, this was not her intention. Instead Seven activated the transporter sequence she had programmed earlier.
In Quark's Bar Quark had stood patiently, albeit painfully, in the same position for the last hour. On a shelf directly behind him sat the neural transmitter he had 'acquired' as part of his arrangement with Chakotay. He could not risk the possibility of anyone discovering the transmitter before Chakotay could collect it. So he had been forced to stand making idle chatter with some boring Talossian Ambassador who was so drunk he had told the same story five times in a row.
He was starting to think something must have gone wrong when he noticed the transmitter shimmer out of existence as it was finally beamed out of his bar. Quark heaved a sigh of relief before smiling the deeply contented smile of a Ferengi who is about to become rich.
"Life doesn't get much better than this!" he commented to the Ambassador before excusing himself. As a treat for a deal well done Quark made his way to a holosuite for an ear massage from a much gentler version of the Borg female he had met earlier. Being in charge of holosuite programming had its advantages!
Back in the cargo bay, Seven quickly erased all records of the previous transport, replacing them with new co-ordinates which would transport her to the conference room. The destination was a ruse; she knew her attempt would be unsuccessful.
As the device re-established its coupling beam, Seven deliberately triggered the alarms by feeding a large amount of power from the chamber to the transporter. She then initiated the transport as the chamber doors opened and a pair of security guards entered with their phasers raised.
Seven felt a tingling sensation signifying the first stage of matter dematerialization. The transport would fail but Seven was prepared for this. She was also prepared for alternate scenarios where the guards would stun her before the transport failed. All that mattered was she provide enough of a distraction for the real escape.
What Seven was not prepared for was a third scenario as the security guard fired his phaser directly at the transporter, shutting the beam down instantaneously. This had the undesirable side-effect of causing Seven to go into synaptic shock!
Meanhwile in Chakotay's quarters, the transmitter had rematerialized on a table next to his bed. He realized time now was his worst enemy, yet he still paused before inserting the transmitter into his neck. The last time he had attempted such a procedure was with the assistance of the Doctor on Voyager. Even though he remembered where the device should be placed, he did not have the luxury of using medical equipment to hook the transmitter safely as well as painlessly to his nervous system.
This, thought Chakotay, is going to hurt.
Chakotay was correct. The pain from inserting the transmitter caused him to black out. Some time later, Chakotay awoke in strange surroundings.
"These are not my quarters?" he said out loud.
Then he remembered where he was and what was supposed to be doing. He felt tentatively around the back of his head. There was some blood but sure enough the transmitter had been inserted correctly. Cursing himself for his weakness he tried to concentrate to activate the transmitter but found his emotions were in turmoil. He had no idea how long he had been unconscious and was expecting a security team to burst in at any moment.
Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. Remembering his father's teachings he began chanting the language of his ancestors, following the ritual to enter the trance-like state required for talking with his animal guide. Soon Chakotay began to achieve the inner piece this ritual always brought him. He felt his heartbeat ease, his pulse slow its racing. Whispering a silent word of thanks to his people, he focused on the task at hand.
In the shuttlecraft bay of Voyager sat a lone craft. Larger and far more sophisticated then any Federation shuttlecraft, the Delta Flyer Mark II was an impressive piece of technology. The original Delta Flyer had been constructed quickly to rescue an advanced probe from deep within a gas giant's atmosphere and was based on an idea by Tom Paris. Tom's ideas, combined with B'Elanna's engineering skills, and Seven's Borg knowledge had resulted in the Delta Flyer. Throughout its lifetime, the Delta Flyer had proven to be a great asset to Voyager until her untimely demise when she had been destroyed by the Borg.
Shortly after the demise of the original ship, Tom had asked Janeway for permission to build another. Janeway not only gave her permission for the project, but also asked to be involved in the design, as did several other key personnel. With no desperate deadline to meet, they improved on the original design and added many enhancements.
One of these enhancements was a system Chakotay was now exploiting. The Voyager crew needed aces up their sleeves to survive in the Delta Quadrant. One such ace was that Seven could remotely activate the Delta Flyer through a neural interface. This would allow control independent of Voyager's computer; an enhancement which had already saved a stranded away team and provided a surprise attack when Voyager had been disabled by Kazon pirates.
Although designed with Seven in mind, Chakotay had once been part of a Borg Collective. This experience meant Chakotay could, in theory, also link to the Delta Flyer; a theory which was fortunately proving to be true.
As the main systems of the Delta Flyer activated, Chakotay nearly passed out again as waves of pain destabilized the tenuous connection. Steadying his focus, he initiated the Flyer's transporter, mentally inputting the co-ordinates of his location. Chakota breathed a sigh of relief as the image of the quarters on Deep Space Nine were replaced by the welcome surroundings of inside the Delta Flyer.
As soon as he rematerialized he broke the neural connection and manually activated the transporter after locating Neelix and Torres. As they took up their positions, Chakotay quickly scanned the cargo bay. He was surprised to see that Seven was not there. With a growing sense of urgency he scanned the whole station for Seven's distinctive life form signature.
The security guard who destroyed the transporter had shakily reported to Bashir that he had 'killed the Borg woman' by accident. After an emergency transport to Sickbay, Bashir had quickly established that she had simply suffered a mild case of synaptic shock and should be up and about again in a few hours. Seven's system was far more resilient than the Doctor had estimated however, and she had regained consciousness several minutes ago. She had kept her eyes closed and faked unconsciousness, so that she could listen to the discussion between the doctor and Sisko.
"Her recuperative skills are quite remarkable," exclaimed Bashir admiringly. "Just look at these life signs."
Bashir turned his padd around so that Sisko could see the results for himself.
"Almost back to normal," commented Sisko.
"Yes, but a few moments ago they were twenty percent lower. Amazing! Any idea what she was trying to do?" asked Bashir.
"Some sort of escape attempt I guess. She may have been trying to beam out to free the others, but Odo's looking into it."
"Did any of the others try to escape?"
"Not that I am aware," answered Sisko. "We scanned their quarters as soon as we became aware of the attempt. They were all still present and correct".
Which means, thought Seven, that Chakotay was either unsuccessful in his attempt or he had not yet attempted to use the Neural interface. Surmising that the Doctor may soon become suspicious, Seven decided to open up her eyes as if she had just awoken. Sitting up she addressed the Doctor.
"Where am I?"
"Take it easy," said Bashir, as he tried to make Seven lie down again.
"You're in Sickbay. You suffered synaptic shock due to the feedback from the Transporter, but you're ok now."
"Odo to Captain Sisko."
Sisko tapped his badge communicator, "Sisko here, what is it, Constable."
"I ordered a manual check of all the ... er, guest's quarters, just to make sure they were actually still there. Security reports Chakotay, Torres and Neelix are missing."
"Missing! How?"
"Unknown at this time. We are scanning the station now to see if we can locate them."
Sisko turned to Seven. "Where are they? What have you done?" he demanded furiously.
Sisko waited for a reply, but noted with some alarm that she was beginning to dematerialize before his very eyes. Before she fully faded, she managed to raise an amused eyebrow at Sisko and utter something as he frantically informed Ops to trace the source of the transporter signal. Turning to Bashir he noticed that the Doctor seemed equally mystified.
"What's that got to do with anything?" asked Bashir.
Sisko realized he was referring to whatever Seven muttered as she transported away, rather then the fact that she had actually escaped.
"I was too busy talking to Ops," answered Sisko. "What was it, what did she say?"
"Just one word," replied Bashir. "Scorpion?"
As soon as Seven rematerialized on board the Delta Flyer, Torres raised the ships shields to prevent anyone from beaming them back again.
"You should not have risked beaming me aboard," stated Seven. "You have endangered the mission."
Chakotay smiled. "You are welcome. Besides, I have a feeling we will need your skills soon."
Seven noted that they where approaching the hanger doors, which where still shut.
"With Voyager's computer down, I cannot bypass the hanger door controls."
Chakotay's smile became wider. "We won't be needing your skills in that area."
With a great feeling of satisfaction, Chakotay activated the Delta Flyer's main phaser banks.
In Ops, Kira was in hunched over a very nervous Ensign; watching as he ran a trace on the transporter signal. Within a few moments, the trace confirmed that Seven had beamed over to Voyager but her location was shielded. Kira opened a channel to Commander Riker.
"Riker here, Colonel. If it's about the escape attempt, we already know."
Kira noted Sisko's arrival as he stepped off the turbo lift. "How so, we've only just.."
"I think the biggest clue," Riker interrupted, "Was when they destroyed Voyager's main hanger doors."
Kira gave a stern look to the Ensign who had just performed the scans, annoyed that he had missed this vital piece of information.
"They're making a break for it in some sort of shuttlecraft," continued Riker. "We're beaming back to the Enterprise now and will intercept them shortly."
"I'll send out the Defiant to assist."
"No need, we have everything under control. Riker out."
Kira was fuming with rage. How dare he cut her off like that!
"Well, I don't care what he says. Ben, you up for a little game of cat and mouse?"
Sisko nodded enthusiastically, "Let's see who catches who first!"
As Sisko turned back towards the lift, Worf stood up to join them.
"Not you, Worf."
Worf seemed amazed that Kira would suggest he stay behind. "I was in charge of this operation. Honor demands that I capture the escaped prisoners!"
"Starfleet wouldn't be very happy if I sent one of their Ambassadors into a potential fire-fight," Kira pointed out. Worf looked like he was about to argue but Kira raised her hand to cut him off, "Even if he is a Klingon Warrior."
There was a tense few moments. It looked like Worf was not going to back down, but he realized that every second arguing was a second more for the enemy so he reluctantly sat down. It was only when he did, and after Sisko descended into the bowels of DS9, did Kira realize that she had been holding her breath.
On board the Enterprise, Picard sat in the captain's chair and gave the order to pursue the fleeing vessel. It had not yet reached the minimum safe distance from the station to engage their warp engines. Almost all of the teams on board Voyager had transported back to the Enterprise, with the exception of Doctor Crusher and Troi who had requested that they stay on-board Voyager, as they felt they were close to reactivating the EMH.
"Distance to target?" asked Picard.
"Thirty thousand kilometres and closing," replied Data.
"Prepare tractor beam," ordered Riker.
Data's hands flew over the controls, "Aye, Sir."
The Delta Flyer was fast and quite manoeuvrable; however Data could anticipate and compensate for every evasive manoeuvre within nanoseconds. The Enterprise closed in fast. Blazing blue energy engulfed the Delta Flyer as the tractor beam snared the fleeing vehicle, stopping it dead in its tracks. Picard indicated to Lieutenant Mudd to open a channel.
"This is Captain Picard. Lower your shields and prepare to transport over to the Enterprise."
The image of the captured Delta Flyer was replaced by one of Chakotay.
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Captain. Evidence may suggest otherwise, but believe me, we are not the bad guys here."
Picard stood up from his chair and moved closer to the view screen. "Mr. Chakotay, attempting to go AWOL is hardly likely to back up your claims. Please, let's not make this any worse then it already is."
"I know things look bad, but if you let us go I think I can prove our case, and maybe find the missing crew."
Picard's tone grew more serious, "You are not going anywhere."
Chakotay glanced to his right, nodded, and then faced Picard again. "We'll see about that Captain."
Chakotay cut the transmission, changing the view screen's perspective back to that of the captured Delta Flyer. Picard frowned and paused from stating his next order when he noticed the colour of the beam around the ship changing from blue to green.
"What's going on?"
Before anyone could answer, the beam flickered and the Delta Flyer disengaged from the tractor beam. No longer restrained, the Delta Flyer resumed its journey at maximum speed. Picard ordered to give chase and again asked for an explanation as to what they had just witnessed. Data swivelled around in his chair to face Picard.
"I believe, the best term to describe what we have just seen is; they adapted.'"
It would make sense, thought Picard. They had a Borg on board and the strange craft must incorporate some Borg technology. He realized Chakotay had been stalling for time, no doubt to allow the Borg to adapt to the tractor beam. Angry with himself for being lead so easily, he considered ordering the Enterprise to fire on the fleeing vessel but then realized it was too late as he witnessed the small ship stretch, then disappear as it engaged its warp engines.
"Track it!" bellowed Riker
"Unable to comply, Sir," replied Data. "The vessel does not appear on any of our sensors. They must be utilising stealth technology."
"Are you able to extrapolate a general heading Mr Data?" asked Picard.
Data checked the helm logs and made several million calculations in one point two seconds.
"I believe so, Captain. If they maintain the same heading they used when their warp engines engaged, they would reach the Badlands in two point seven hours. However, there's no guarantee that they will stay on that course."
Yes they will, thought Picard, as he remembered the image of the Badlands which had appeared into his mind earlier.
"Sir," interjected Mudd, "I'm picking up a transmission from Captain Sisko."
Data checked the short-range scanners, "It's the Defiant. She's closing on our position."
"On screen," ordered Picard.
The view screen displayed Captain Sisko. Picard had already learned of his return from his year long 'sabbatical' with the Wormhole aliens, so was not surprised to see him on board the very ship he had helped design.
"Captain Picard, good to see you again."
"Likewise Captain."
"We were wondering if you would appreciate some assistance?" offered Sisko, with a hint of sarcasm.
Picard noted that Riker shifted uncomfortably in his seat, no-doubt now regretting his earlier confidence in easily capturing the ship.
"Any help would be welcome, Captain. I believe that they are heading towards the Badlands, although we have no way of tracking them to confirm this at present."
"That would make sense," responded Sisko. "Both Torres and Chakotay have excellent knowledge of the Badlands. But then again, so do I!"
Picard remembered reading that Sisko had been heavily involved in hunting down members of the Maquis and had spent considerable time in the Badlands.
"In that case Captain, it would probably save a lot of time if you lead and we followed."
Sisko smiled at Picard, "It would be my pleasure."
Moments later, both ships where heading at maximum warp towards the Badlands. Sensors were set at maximum just in case they caught a glimpse of the fleeing ship. Data was tasked with coming up with alternate methods to locate them, while La'Forge prepared the Enterprise to enter the Badlands.
Up until the invention of the Intrepid Class Starship, a ship the size of the Enterprise would not be able to enter the Badlands without considerable damage. This was due to the amount of plasma energy being discharged in the Badlands; an area which covered over one third of a sector of space. This energy disrupted electrical systems and the external plasma had a tendency to seep into the plasma vents, disrupting the warp core. The bigger the vessel, the more disruption; until it reached a point where entering the Badlands was simply not an option.
The Intrepid class Starship was the first Starfleet vessel that incorporated bioneural circuitry. This proved a natural defence against what had become known as 'the Badlands effect. Since then, every new Starship had this system-wide upgrade included in the basic design. Even so, once they entered the Badlands the Enterprise and the Defiant would have to seal their plasma vents and cut power to the warp engines. Any sudden bursts of energy could still ignite their own plasma.
They could not use the warp engines once in the Badlands anyway as it was impossible to maintain a stable warp field. Other systems would also be affected. The main casualties would be the long-range sensors would be useless and short range scanners would not fare much better. An object that appeared on the scanner as a battle station could prove to be a small moon on closer inspection.
The biggest problem which faced all vessels was the massive turbulent cyclones of compact plasma energy that swirled around the Badlands and destroyed anything which was unlucky enough to fly into one. Not for the first time in his experiences on the Enterprise was Picard glad that they had Data at the helm.
Back on Voyager, Doctor Crusher initiated the EMH start-up sequence once more, convinced that this time it would work. She had deleted the basic holo-matrix and overlaid the pattern from the Enterprise's EMH, then loaded in all the data stored in the portable emitter. The first few attempts had been a failure, but both Crusher and Troi where quite pleased to note that the holo-matrix did not seem to be decompiling into another mess of corruption. The problem this time seemed to be a simple matter of configuration irregularities between the basic model and Voyager's EMH data core.
Both knew it was simply a matter of tweaking out all of the bugs before they were successful. On this latest attempt the EMH slowly started to appear, as if beaming in via a teleporter. Crusher adjusted a few more controls to compensate and the EMH finally became a solid form.
"We've done it!" exclaimed Crusher.
Both Troi and Crusher looked at the EMH, awaiting some sort of response, but he just looked at them in a confused manner.
"Well," probed Troi gently, "Aren't you going to say something?"
"Where am I? What year is this? Who is the President?" blurted out the EMH erratically.
"He seems a bit confused," Troi noted dryly.
"Hold on a minute" said Crusher as she adjusted a few more settings. "I think I know what the problem is."
As Crusher committed her changes, the EMH disappeared then re-appeared again. This time he looked professional and calm.
"Please state the.."
The EMH turned to look at Doctor Crusher, he then looked at Troi. The expression of professional detachment was soon replaced by one of fear.
"Where's Captain Janeway?"
"We were hoping you could tell us" replied Crusher.
"We're back in the Alpha Quadrant, aren't we?"
"How do you know..." began Troi, but the EMH interrupted her.
"You must take me to Chakotay immediately!" he said, grabbing the portable emitter of the desk and attaching it onto his arm. "He's an innocent man!"
"Calm down," said Doctor Crusher, "Your Mr Chakotay has escaped with a number of others and.."
"Into the Badlands?" interrupted the EMH.
Crusher glanced at Troi as if to say, 'How does he know?' "Yes, we believe so, but we have several ships in pursuit so you should see your friends soon."
"You need to get in touch with them," demanded the EMH. "Get in touch with them all and tell them to turn back!"
"They're probably in the Badlands by now; communication would be impossible," Crusher pointed out.
"Hold on a minute," said Troi in a soothing voice. "What's the problem, why should they all turn back?"
"Because, my dear," answered the EMH looking more upset then ever. "They are walking straight into a trap!
The Defiant and the Enterprise had been in the Badlands for more than an hour now and had searched three old Maquis hideouts that Sisko was familiar with. The hideouts were destroyed; a result of the Dominion's systematic, and successful, eradication of the entire Maquis terrorist group. They had hoped to find some trace of the Voyager runaways but so far lady luck was not on their side.
Captain Sisko was presently leading them to a fourth hideout which was much deeper into the Badlands. So far the Enterprise had been forced to take emergency manoeuvres to avoid shifting cones of plasma energy while the Defiant seemed to be having little trouble sweeping around the danger spots.
"Sir," said Data. "I am picking up a faint reading."
Picard sat up, "Source?"
"Straight ahead," replied Data. "And getting closer."
"Picard to Defiant, are you reading anything?"
"Affirmative," replied Sisko, "An object appears to be heading towards us on an intercept course."
"Sir," interjected Mudd. "I'm picking up a faint transmission, on audio only ... it's hard to make it out though, sir."
"Let's hear it," ordered Picard.
Mudd transferred the transmission to the main speakers. The audio was mostly static but Picard could hear a voice jumbled up in all the interference.
"Data, can you filter out that voice?" asked Picard.
"Processing," replied Data, his eyes flickering left to right as he re-played the transmission in his positronic brain while applying several filters.
"I believe the transmission is from Chakotay. There is too much interference to extrapolate a complete transmission. However, Chakotay repeats the phrase, "Turn back, get out," quite clearly several times.
"The approaching object looks like the very ship we are searching for," interrupted Sisko, who still had an open connection with the Enterprise, "and it's coming in fast!"
Data examined his sensor readings, "Confirmed."
What the hell is going on? thought Picard.
Before he could even think of his next order, his thoughts were interrupted by a voice he hoped never to hear again.
"We are the Borg, existence as you know it is over, we will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile."
"Sir," said Mudd, with a note of panic in his voice. "That transmission isn't coming over any subspace frequency!"
"No, it isn't," agreed Picard whose continuing headache had suddenly cleared, revealing the whispering voices that he knew so well, yet dreaded so much. "It was sent directly into our minds!"
Which meant that these Borg were something new, thought Picard. Something they had not encountered before. Before panic could set in, Picard opened a channel to all decks.
"Red alert, battle stations!"
And then, Picard's world turned upside down.
On board Voyager creatures straight out of hell suddenly occupied, what were, moments before, empty quarters. On Deep Space Nine, more of the hellish creatures materialised out of nothingness, right into the heart of the station. And elsewhere, Janeway heard again the voice she believed she had only imagined in her dreams.
"Remember."
Suddenly, she felt the removal of the strange memory block Tuvok had discovered. Earlier she thought it had been painful enough not knowing what was going on but now she knew differently.
Janeway remembered everything as if re-living it, moment by terrifying moment; all over again…