Chapter 6 – The Splinter

The sphere shook from the subspace wash of the cubes as they exited the transwarp conduit. Weapons fire from all five cubes erupted simultaneously. Janeway didn't have time to wonder if the shields would hold. "Evasive maneuvers!" she shouted. The surrounding space was a tangle of other vessels and energy lances with multiple impacts against the shields.

"Prepare for collision," Ayala called out over the melee.

Suddenly everyone on the bridge was thrown to one side as the sphere's shields brushed against those of one of the cubes. Weapons fire from the attacking cubes had abated, probably due to the proximity of the other vessel, but as they separated this would undoubtedly change.

"Forget weapons," Janeway ordered. "All available power to the shields and plot a course out of here. Try to hail Commander Tuvok and General Korok."

Ayala turned to face the Captain. "Detecting multiple conduits opening dead ahead!"

Captain Janeway frowned as she examined the telltale kaleidoscope of color of the forming conduits. With the five hostiles behind her and an unknown number soon to be ahead of her, she was running out of escape routes. Her command aboard the Borg sphere might be short-lived. "Vector zee minus twelve five and get us out of here!"

#

Chakotay turned to Annika. "So now what?"

The two of them had beamed back to the damaged Borg Cube. They had materialized onto to the interior perimeter walkway and Annika had led them back to the Vinculum room. She had presumed it would be empty, wanting a place to get their bearings and figure out a course of action without the distraction of other drones. Her arm was still wrapped about Chakotay's waist. She had grabbed him from the bridge of one of the spheres and basically taken him with her without consulting him first. She was relieved he appeared unfazed and ready to go with her lead. "We can't just abandon them," Annika said, feeling the need to explain herself anyway.

Chakotay nodded. "I agree. And not just the children, but the rest of them here as well."

Indeed, the cube was still filled with hundreds of drones recently disconnected from the Hive Mind. It was their actions in this very room that had led to this point. The Voyager crew and a few others may have escaped the ensuing chaos in the spheres, but what of the rest? "There might be a way we can organize the remaining drones."

"Before they kill each other."

Good. They were on the same page. It was true there had been some fighting, but perhaps they could still bring order to the group. Annika suddenly realized she was still holding Chakotay around his waist and finally removed her arm. She moved over to one of the pillars, glancing briefly at the Vinculum that lay dormant on the floor beside it. It was not too long ago when she was arguing with the Queen and had caused that damage. She tapped on the controls to activate a scan throughout the cube. A limited amount of output was displayed. Chakotay stepped over beside here.

"This station is not fully functional," Annika commented. "I'm starting a diagnostics."

Chakotay tapped on another portion of the pillar. "Many systems appear to be damaged. Transporters, propulsion. We're not going anywhere in this cube."

They spent several minutes trying to bypass the damaged systems and didn't notice the drone who stepped into the entrance behind them. "Those interfaces are useless."

Annika and Chakotay both whirled around to face the entrance. The newcomer was pointing at the pillar and looking at them curiously. "Systems in this half of the cube are offline," the drone continued. "I monitored your transport here. Which faction are you from?"

Annika and Chakotay glanced at one another. "I'm not certain what you mean," Chakotay answered. "We're from this cube. We were severed from the Hive Mind when Annika destroyed the Vinculum." He gestured towards the device with his head. The drone seemed to see it for the first time.

"Transporters are offline," the drone replied, still apparently suspicious.

"We used the transporter on one of the cube's spheres."

"Both spheres deployed six minutes ago."

"We know. There were many of us on those spheres to go and fight the Borg who were coming to our position. We… needed to come back."

The drone appeared to be thinking. "It's more complicated than that," he finally said and lifted something up that was in his other hand. Chakotay hadn't noticed it before, but as the drone tapped some if its controls, he realized it was a photon grenade. After the grenade was deactivated, the drone looked back up.

"You were going to use that against us?" Chakotay asked.

"I couldn't allow the Vinculum to be reconnected, if that was your intention."

"And you would have destroyed yourself along with it?"

"I set the resonant frequency. My shields would have adequately protected me in the blast. I didn't know if you were still connected to a hive mind or not." He attached the grenade to his exoskeleton and then approached the two of them. "My name is Grenell. I recognize you now as one of the new acquisitions. From… Voyager. I believe that was the name of your vessel."

"You are correct. My name is Chakotay, I was Voyager's First Officer, and this is Annika."

"Come. I've been monitoring the situation from a station near here. I'll show you what's happening."

They followed Grenell out of the Vinculum Chamber and started moving around the interior ring corridor, passing the Central Plexus Chamber along the way. When they arrived, Grenell stepped over another drone laying inert at the entrance.

"It appears this drone deactivated itself shortly after the Vinculum was disconnected," Grenell commented. "It was dead when I arrived. That might be the case for many other drones in the cube as well. I also monitored some skirmishes between drones earlier, but that appears to have abated." He stepped up to a pillar and tapped on some of the control interfaces. Suddenly in the center of the room a hologram appeared of the surrounding space. A dozen or more cubes and twice as many spheres danced about. Periodically, lines would emanate from one of the depicted vessels, presumably indicating weapons fire.

"This room is the nexus of most of the cube's internal and external sensors. At least those still functioning. From monitoring transpace traffic, I've ascertained that the primary Borg Hive Mind severed fifty-seven percent of itself to isolate the pathogen that was introduced into its matrix. The Queen has solidified central control to the remaining forty-three percent." Grenell then turned to Chakotay and Annika. Again, he appeared to be thinking. "I believe I've traced the source of the disruption to this cube. Were you also the ones who introduced the pathogen?"

"It's possible," Chakotay replied, but then shrugged when he noticed Grennel's look. "Yes we did, although it was simply meant to affect a subset of drones with a certain defect that allowed us to communicate in a virtual construct during regeneration."

Grenell nodded, as if satisfied with his intuition. "Apparently it had a more dramatic effect." He returned his attention to the holographic display. "A little less than half of the severed piece reformed into a new splinter collective. They have already selected a queen and are in competition with the original. The original has immediately retaliated and is systematically hunting down the Splinter and destroying them."

"A Borg civil war." Annika commented.

"In a sense. It has happened once before in my drone memory when an aberration was introduced into the matrix by a single drone who had been manipulated by an alpha quadrant species."

"I remember," Annika replied. "That deviation was a much smaller occurrence, nothing like this."

Grenell nodded. "Seven percent, made slightly more complicated when an artificial lifeform interfered with the splinter and redirected it. Eventually, however, the aberrant splinter collective was destroyed by the original and order returned to the Collective."

"In our case now, the Splinter is nearly half the size of the original," Annika observed. "It's going to be a mess."

"What about the remaining percentage?" Chakotay asked. "Right now. Those not in the original collective or the splinter."

"That's us," Grenell said. "Unaffiliated drones. Adrift, as individuals, and about twenty-nine percent of the pre-pathogen Borg population and infrastructure. From what I can decipher from the transpace traffic, the Splinter appears to be attacking these unaffiliated players to increase their numbers by reassimilation. We'll be ignored by the original at first, I suspect, but eventually be hunted down and eliminated after the original destroys the Splinter."

"Why isn't the original Hive Mind trying to reassimilate the unaffiliated as well?"

"The pathogen," Annika replied. "It's probably concerned about recontamination."

"But not the Splinter?"

Annika shrugged, and then motioned to the display in front of them. "Who is represented here?"

"All three." Grenell turned to the holographic display and studied it for a moment. "I believe these are the three cubes that were the first to arrive. There were originally five, but two have since been destroyed. They immediately attacked the three unaffiliated spheres that were also in our vicinity, two of which had just separated from this cube. The cubes belong to the Splinter along with a dozen or so spheres that have also since arrived." He then motioned to eight other cubes that appeared to form an octahedron about the cluster of three. Most of the weapons fire emanated from these cubes. "These eight cubes are from the original Collective. They were part of a grouping of twelve cubes in two different conduits that arrived shortly after the first. Four of those cubes have since moved off back into trans-warp space, presumably to hunt down more components of the Splinter."

"How can you tell which vessels belong to each faction?" Chakotay interrupted.

"By monitoring the transpace link frequencies and amplitudes," Grenell replied casually, as if it was a basic question with an obvious answer. "The rest, including our cube, are unaffiliated. They appear to be congregating in this area here." Indeed, two other cubes and about a half dozen spheres were separated from the fighting.

"The spheres that separated from this cube, are they in this group?"

"I believe so," Grenell replied. Suddenly one of them disappeared. "Interesting. Another one has just departed via a trans-warp conduit."

"It appears most of them are moving to our position," Annika noted.

Grenell nodded. "Possibly. I've monitored others leaving the area by trans-warp as we just saw. I'm hoping at least one of these vessels is returning with the intention of beaming the rest of us off this derelict and then retreat from the area."

"We can't abandon this cube," Annika replied flatly.

"Why not?"

"There are hundreds of babies in maturation chambers here."

Grenell misinterpreted Annika's concern. "We can disable the chambers before we leave. The protodrones won't survive and be available to the Splinter or the original Collective."

Annika appeared disgusted and Chakotay quickly placed his hand on her shoulder. Almost to restrain her as much as to comfort her. "We're not going to kill any of the children," she said.

"Children?" Grenell replied incredulous. "They are all still within maturation chambers."

"Irrelevant," Annika snapped. "We're here to save them, not exterminate them."

Grenell blinked several times. "Very well. If that is the case, we need to prepare this cube to be tractored and transmit our desires to the approaching vessels. We have no working propulsion of our own. If the beam is strong enough, perhaps from one of the other cubes or a tactical sphere, it should hold us together in a conduit."

Chakotay was beginning to like this drone. Grenell was knowledgeable and decisive. "What about communications?" Chakotay asked. "Can we transmit to any of the other vessels?"

"We have a limited range, both in transmission and reception. Given their approach, we should be able to hail them in a few minutes. I will open a channel and prepare to broadcast. "

Chakotay nodded. "After that, I think we need to start organizing the other drones. Get things under control here."

#

"Report!" General Korok bellowed. The bridge of his sphere was now fashioned with a command chair and he was sitting in it. The captain of his new realm. Around him were his officers at various pillars and representing a variety of species.

A Kazon male, nominally the second in command, turned to face his captain. "Everything is set. We're ready to initiate a trans-warp conduit when we're in tractor range of Commander Chakotay's cube. We are still unable to hail them on any frequency."

"Have the rendezvous coordinates been transmitted to the others?"

"All vessels have been notified. Several have already left."

Korok nodded. After a flurry of activity in the opening moments of the battle, the other group of cubes arrived and engaged their attackers. Since that time, they had all been content to sit on the sidelines and watch as the Borg battled with itself. The idea to withdraw and regroup was hastily arranged with Captain Janeway and the others. Their growing fleet was splitting up for now to make it harder to track. They would then meet up in a nearby nebula. The situation would have to be studied in more detail to discover exactly what was going on and what their next course of action should be. Korok had a pretty good idea of what he was going to recommend.

"Sir, we're getting another transpace signal," a Burnali female officer said. "That makes a total of twenty-three so far."

"Can we confirm it's one of ours?"

She was listening carefully to whatever it was and then nodded. "Yes sir. They've provided the information you requested."

Korok slapped the arm of the chair. "Good. Redirect them to the rendezvous coordinates." He smiled, showing his crooked and sharpened teeth. Revenge was at hand. "Our numbers continue to grow. This insurgency will not fail and the remaining Borg will burn in Gre'thor!"

#

"Janeway to Tuvok."

"Go ahead Captain."

"We're on a secure channel. I'd appreciate your consul about now."

There was a pause and Janeway imagined Tuvok raising one of his eyebrows, although technically now as a Borg drone, he no longer had eyebrows to raise. Well, something similar none the less. Whether Vulcan or Borg, his advice and friendship were valuable. "I believe General Korok's plan of leaving this area and rendezvousing in that class three nebula is sound. Since his tactical sphere is capable of tractoring the derelict containing Commander Chakotay and Annika, it behooves us to accompany him to that location."

"Agreed."

"As for his intention of mounting a full scale insurgency and taking the fight deeper into Borg space, I have my reservations. We need more information."

"If the Borg are vulnerable, as Korok claims" Kathryn mused, "We might miss a perfect opportunity to deal a crippling blow to the Borg. They pose a continuing threat to the Federation and the Alpha Quadrant."

"You may be right, but that course of action comes with great risk. I understand, however, our… memory of the Borg's plans are not as complete. Whatever we decide, the knowledge we gain at the conference within the nebula will be beneficial."

Kathryn was nodding, but then realized Tuvok couldn't see her. "We need to slow down and ascertain the costs and benefits. Besides, there are millions of other unaffiliated drones and vessels. Our primary focus should be to contact them."

"Again, we need more information." Kathryn heard something unintelligible and then Tuvok returned. "Captain, my sphere's scheduled time has arrived. We are initiating trans-warp and will rendezvous with you in the nebula in two point one hours."

"Understood. Good luck Commander."

Tuvok didn't reply for the comm line was already severed.

"Five minutes until trans-warp," Ayala announced, anticipating Janeway's question. "General Korok's ship will be in tractor range of the cube in seven minutes. They'll be the last to go." Kathryn shook her head. They were relying on knowledge acquired while they were Borg drones to operate all these systems. In a way, the weeks she spent as a drone now seemed like just a bad dream. She glanced down at her arm, still encased in a Borg exoskeleton and then reached up to touch her smooth skull. What a sight they all must be.

"Are we all set to make it to the nebula?" Kathryn asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes ma'am," Ayala replied. "We have three separate trans-warp jumps planned, and then a high-warp leg to get clear of the conduit. All are entered into the navigational array and ready to execute."

Kathryn nodded. She wasn't happy leaving the retrieval of her First Officer to Korok, but she had little choice.

#

Chakotay, Annika and Grenell neared the maturation chamber room. They had passed several dead drones along the way. Some showed signs of a violent death, but most simply appeared to have deactivated on their own. Suddenly there was a slight jolt in one direction and the three of them stopped. Grenell lifted a device and examined the output. It was a link back to the working sensors in the bowels of the cube.

"Commander Chakotay. We're being tractored, just as your friend said." Grenell had readily deferred to Chakotay's leadership. It was as if he had been waiting for someone to provide him direction. Hopefully the majority of the other drones in the cube were of a similar disposition. Soon enough there was another jolt in the opposite direction. "And I suspect that indicates we have entered the trans-warp conduit."

"Korok said we'll be in transit for about one hour and fifty-five minutes," Annika commented.

"Let's see what we can do in that time," Chakotay finished. "It's just up ahead."

The room was filled when they arrived. Instead of fighting, however, the drones present were mostly simply sitting about. Some near the entrance stood, and one of them stepped forward. "We don't want any trouble," she said. "But if you're looking to fight, you'll get more than you bargained for here."

Chakotay noticed the manipulator of this drone's left arm appeared to be a disrupter. A drone outfitted for combat. Chakotay raised his hands to show he possessed no equivalent weapon. "We're not here to fight, but to organize."

The other drone was apparently not prepared for this response. She turned to another who had stepped up beside her. This new drone frowned. "The spheres are gone, propulsion is shot, and the transporters are off-line. This cube is dead. What do you propose we organize to do?"

"For starters, we can work on bringing those systems back online." He glanced about the large room. Several hundred were present, probably the bulk of the remaining drones. "I'm certain there are many of us with the requisite knowledge."

"To what end?"

"Did you not feel that jolt just a minute ago?" Chakotay answered. "We are currently being tractored to rendezvous with other unaffiliated Borg vessels that have also been disconnected from the Hive Mind."

"How do you know this?"

Grenell raised the device he was holding. "We're connected to some of the cube's remaining working sensors. We are also in communication with one of the other vessels. A tactical sphere that is tractoring us right now in a trans-warp conduit to the rendezvous point."

More drones in the room were making their way towards the entrance to hear what was going on.

"There are groups of drones out in the cube killing anyone they find," one said.

"We need to organize security details to sweep the cube and apprehend them," Chakotay said.

"I know what might be wrong with the warp drive," another said. He stepped forward. "I was working on it when we were all disconnected."

"Good," Chakotay replied and nodded. "Find some others who retain the required knowledge. Once we secure the cube, you can get to work." He then turned to the rest, all of whom where now listening, and raised his voice. "We should look to ensure enough alcoves are working for our regeneration needs. Transporters, life support, weapons. All systems should be checked and we should attempt to start repairs."

"I can work on the alcoves," someone in the back of the group said.

This was encouraging. Chakotay nodded and pointed. "Again, once we secure the cube, we can get to work."

"I can organize a team to take of that." It was the drone who had confronted them when they first arrived.

Chakotay smiled. She would be an excellent choice. "There's one more critical item," he said and turned to Annika who had moved up beside him.

"Look around you," Annika called out, taking her cue. "There are hundreds of children in these maturation chambers. We must stop their accelerated growth immediately. For those past their natural gestation period, they must be delivered from their chambers and the Borg technology removed. We will care for them naturally and provide for them." Annika paused. There were murmurs now amongst the assembled drones. It was unclear if the reaction was in support or opposition, but she pressed forward. "For those children in need of further gestation, we must decide how best to proceed. We need to build a support structure now, not only for our children here, but the children in other cubes and spheres that have become disconnected from the Hive Mind of the Borg."

It was clear now some angry voices were mixed in with the murmurs. "I have no intention of keeping this child!" a female drone shouted. She was sitting up on one of the tables in the room, undoubtedly one of the female drones the Borg impregnated, just as Annika herself, to increase their numbers. "I want nothing to do with the creature the Borg put inside me."

Annika hesitated. She unconsciously touched her abdomen. Her feelings about the new life growing inside her couldn't be more opposite. She could sympathize for the woman's hatred of the Borg. Annika had lived with that distaste for the past eighteen years. The child, however, was innocent of the Borg's misdeeds. If this woman felt that strongly, however, there could be accommodations. "If that is your choice, the child can be removed and placed in a maturation chamber when it is…"

"I want it removed now!"

The group was getting more disorderly. Annika felt she was losing control of the situation. "The baby's survival depends on an adequate time in a natural womb," she countered, hoping to resort to reason. Indeed, the Borg had experimented with cloning and artificial wombs since the beginning of the Collective. No technology was ever found that could better substitute that which was developed over millions of years of evolution for the various species assimilated by the Borg, particularly during the period from conception when the distinct new life began to roughly the end of the first fourth of the requisite gestation period for that species. Yes, it was possible to conduct all aspects of procreation or cloning using technology. The resulting specimens, however, were decidedly more susceptible to genetic abnormalities and had a compromised immune system and resistance to disease. To the Borg, they made poor drones.

"You cannot force me to carry this abomination inside me!"

"I want to have the Borg technology removed from me!" another drone shouted.

This last statement got everyone's attention. It seemed to strike a chord, and others began to shout their agreement. It was clear everyone wanted to be rid of their Borg implants and Annika's concern for the children was forgotten. Chakotay and Annika both tried to shout over the ruckus. Grenell and some others joined them. Eventually, order was restored, but the mood felt significantly more strained.

Both Chakotay and Annika were at a loss. Grenell stepped up. "It seems clear when we speak to the others at the upcoming meeting," he said so all could hear, "Commander Chakotay should relay the desire for us to find and acquire a planet where we can start removing our Borg devices." He was attempting to mollify the group, which Chakotay appreciated. Grenell was turning into a valuable ally. It worked as desired. Many of the other drones were nodding their heads in agreement.

"That might not be possible," a new drone stated from the periphery of the group. Everyone turned their attention to her. She was standing with a group of similarly adorned drones. "My name is Wistal, and I was a medical drone here in this chamber. For some of us, the Borg have replaced essential organs or skeletal structure. These simply can't be removed or replaced." This quieted the crowd further and Wistal looked about. The revelation was like a dose of cold water and somehow served to defuse the tension. "I concur that we need to find a suitable planet. If we intend to start disconnecting components, we will require a source of supplement regeneration. But let me be clear, many of us will require regeneration in a Borg alcove for the rest of our lives." She gestured to the nearby maturation chambers. "We will likely be able to remove all Borg implants from most of these fetuses. When we do, they will require care and nourishment as well, and much more space than what's available here inside the cube."

"We have a lot to think about," Chakotay said, cutting off any further discussion or objections Wistal's statements might have garnered. "For the present, let's start the work needed to get our cube functioning again."

The mood remained somewhat tense, but again Grenell took the lead, anticipating exactly what was required. He stepped forward and clapped his hands. "It is time to comply with Commander Chakotay's orders. I need a dozen of you who are familiar with internal and external sensors."

#

Commander Tuvok, formerly of the Federation Starship Voyager and now commanding an unnamed Borg Sphere, rubbed his chin thoughtfully. The discussion between the various groups of Borg drones recently disconnected from the Hive Mind continued. The fleet was assembled in a Class Three nebula, and new vessels continued to contact them through transpace to meet up. Still in the Delta Quadrant, but sufficiently hidden to be relatively safe. The discussions were being held over a joint communications channel, and so close to a million drones were now represented. Two dozen cubes and over a hundred spheres and smaller vessels. It was chaos at first. There were differing opinions and various factions, but as the discussions progressed, leaders of those factions were soon recognized and spoke for the rest.

General Korok spoke for perhaps the largest faction and proposed the most aggressive strategy. They wanted to simultaneously continue to assemble all the unaffiliated Borg resources available and to attack the remnant of the Borg immediately, whether the Splinter or the original Collective, now that it was weakened. Captain Janeway spoke for another large fraction, which including Tuvok. They agreed with the Klingon general up to a point. They thought it prudent to use what ships they had to locate and bring together the unaffiliated Borg, but wait and see the outcome of the Borg's civil war between the Splinter mind and the remnant of the original Hive Mind. The remaining drones formed a minor yet vocal group who wanted nothing to do with the Borg. This was led by a Benthen named Gavin. A member of a Delta Quadrant species, he was nominally in command of one of the cubes in the unaffiliated fleet. Whereas it had been agreed early on that a suitable planet should be located to serve as a base of operations and to transfer all non-combatants to the surface to start recovering from their time as a drone, this is where this remaining group's agreement ended. Once free of as much Borg technology as possible, most of this group wished to depart and return to their former worlds and former lives. A handful of others from the greater group made comments, but the primary discussions were essentially now confined to these three.

"What we know for a fact is the Splinter is trying to grow," Captain Janeway was saying. "It is likely the civil war between it and the original will take time and both parts of the remaining Borg will continue to weaken."

"We can help them along!" Korok countered, but Tuvok sat up straighter in his chair. He had to confess his mind had been wandering, but something the Captain had said elicited a thought.

"Perhaps, but doesn't it make more sense to build our numbers first?"

Tuvok pressed the comm button on the pillar beside him. "There is something we have not yet considered," he said, his thoughts coalescing as he drew them to their logical conclusion. How could they have overlooked the obvious?

There was a moment of hesitation with his interruption to the back and forth between Captain Janeway and General Korok. "Go ahead Commander," Korok finally answered, apparently having recognized his voice.

"As Captain Janeway points out, we have observed that the Splinter is trying to grow by reassimilated disconnected pieces of the Borg. The unaffiliated, as we've come to call ourselves."

"That's exactly right," Gavin cut in. "The sooner we completely shed ourselves of these Borg implants and scatter the better. We are vulnerable."

Tuvok ignored Gavin's comment. "What is the next logical step for the Splinter when the opportunities to reassimilate unaffiliated vessels and drones becomes limited?" he persisted.

Again there was a pause as the rest considered his question. "Acquire other drones. Assimilate other worlds," Janeway answered.

Tuvok was confident the Captain, and indeed the rest understood the implication, but asked the next logical question anyway. They all shared, to one degree or another, memories from the Hive Mind and future Borg plans, so he knew it wouldn't take long for them to formulate an answer. "And where would they go?"

"The Alpha Quadrant," Janeway and Korok answered simultaneously. Tuvok concurred. It had the highest concentration of unassimilated worlds. It had always been considered a potential reservoir for new drones once the need arose. For the Splinter, that need had come.

"I must go to the High Council immediately."

"I can't believe we hadn't thought of that earlier. Commander, prepare your sphere. We are going to Earth and warn the Federation."

"Captain, General. The Splinter cannot be allowed to expand," Gavin cut in. "We must send the bulk of our fleet to protect those worlds." Even Gavin understood the seriousness of the situation. As the Splinter became desperate, they would undoubtedly look elsewhere for drones. Their size relative to the original made containment more difficult. Although it ensured the Borg civil war would continue, it also meant a much larger and devastating conflagration. What would the original Hive Mind do in retaliation? Would they also start assimilated new worlds? The conflict could expand to encompass the entire Galaxy.

"This is Commander Chakotay. We're in no condition to offer assistance in combat. I suggest all non-combatants be immediately moved to our cube and another vessel capable of tractoring us through trans-warp. We have an idea of where we might find a planet to set up our base of operations."

"Tactical spheres will be more useful in combat. My cube will be that other vessel," Gavin responded. That suited his intentions, Tuvok contemplated with chagrin, but was undeniably logical. What the Klingon Empire and Federation would think upon the arrival of their Borg fleet was anyone's guess. That is, of course, if the Splinter had not already invaded the Alpha Quadrant during their deliberations.

"Very well. All other vessels, check in with General Korok or myself. We'll split the fleet in two. Divert all transpace communications of unaffiliated vessels wishing to join us to Gavin. We leave for the Alpha Quadrant in five minutes."

#

"Mister Gavin," Grenell said over the comm. "We are ready for tractoring."

"Standby. An unaffiliated sphere has just contacted us. They have entered the nebula and will rendezvous in less than a minute."

"Understood. Standing by." Grenell turned to Commander Chakotay and Annika beside him. The three of them made a good team. Chakotay was a natural leader and the other drones quickly learned to follow his command, just as he had done. Interestingly, however, although Chakotay's companion didn't take an active leadership role, more often than not Chakotay took his lead from Annika. In just a few hours they had brought order to their cube. Although propulsion and weapons were still offline, progress was being made. They were the nursery ship in the fleet, having over nine thousand children, most still in maturation chambers, but many now outside and being cared for by medical drones and other volunteers. It was fortunate the planet they had chosen was close by. The rest of the fleet, besides Gavin's cube, were already in transit to the Alpha Quadrant. Those unaffiliated vessels that had contacted since that time had been directed to meet them at the planet.

"It must be a sphere we contacted before we entered the nebula," Annika suggested. "Perhaps it was very distant during their initial contact and it is only now arriving."

"All known contacts have been diverted to the planet," Chakotay agreed. He turned to Grenell. "You're sure about that planet?"

Grenell smiled. "It is both isolated and uninhabited. The Borg have it cataloged, but with no inhabitants or technology, there is no reason for either the Splinter or the Collective to return. We can mask our presence quite easily."

Suddenly there was the sound of a transport in progress. The three of them turned to face a single Borg drone who had materialized across the room. Grenell didn't recognize him, and turned to gauge Chakotay and Annika's reaction. Both seemed equally perplexed.

"Annika?" the drone asked. He was about Grenell's size, but of a different species. It was hard to tell exactly which due to his Borg implants. The newcomer stepped forward quickly and both Grenell and Chakotay also moved forward to block his way. It was unclear what this new drone's intentions were, and thus they erred on the side of caution. Chakotay had raised his arms, as if to fight, but then dropped them to his side. He apparently did recognize the newcomer after all. The drone crossed the room and stopped before Annika.

"Axum," Annika whispered.

#

Author's note: Please review. You've read this far, why not?