Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek Voyager, I do however own this plot and the original characters.
Voyager was completely abuzz with excitement as each crew member worked very diligently, running last minute checks before the device was officially activated. Naomi was beside herself with giddiness, imagining seeing her friends and dear godfather again soon. How long had it been since she last saw him? Almost eleven years, half her life it seemed. Entirely too long! The link between their quadrants would allow frequent and easy access, no seventy-thousand year trips necessary!
While Naomi mentally planned what she would say to her old guardian, Icheb stood on the bridge, doing everything he could to appear as collected and optimistic as he could. Inside him, he worried over what would happen when they turned the device on. Would it create a wormhole as it was designed to do, or would it create a devastating blackhole? He had heard rumors of insanely powerful weapons able to create them. He knew this wasn't such a device, but there was a few keys things that differentiated the two.
As rare in the universe as the volatile substance was, red matter was known to be highly unstable and one wrong move, one little drop would result in an explosive quantum singularity. The Borg had encountered red matter during their use of their main transwarp conduit into different parts of the galaxy. Even the Borg stayed away from blackhole weapons, recognizing the unpredictability and potential of massive life loss. Despite removing individuality and causing general mayhem, the Borg still needed their potential drones intact and alive!
While the wormhole device they had used a different approach to puncturing the very fabrics of space, it was still a possibility. No matter how infinitesimal. They relied on already established connections to produce their, along with technology studied by the people who developed the stable wormhole over Deep Space Nine. Assuming nothing went wrong with it, what would await them after they established their link to the Delta Quadrant? Would it be the silence of space, the open arms of their allies, or the weapons fire of their enemies?
Down in Engineering, B'elanna ran several more checks, shouting orders left and right to get things operational. "Finish those calibrations! Ensign Carmen, I want to see those relays covered up before the fireworks start!" she shouted as she made her rounds around the massive room.
"Yes ma'am," the Ensign replied, quickly working to fix the problem.
"Come on people, this is the first official test of the device! You want to impress your Captain, don't you? Let's make this as painless as can be! Then we can all go celebrate, what do you say?" the half Klingon asked her staff, grinning when she heard a cheer. "Alright then, you know what you have to do!" After working to finish the last minute tests, run last minute debugs, B'elanna reported in a green light.
Over at Astrometrics, Naomi stood with Jeremiah at her side, synchronizing the device and turning on the scan. "All clear so far, not a peep from the Delta Quadrant" she muttered, deep in concentration, checking the frequencies and nuances of the delicate inter-spatial connection.
"No anomalous signals detected," Jeremiah spoke into his badge. "The coast is clear."
On the bridge, Harry turned to look at his Captain, excitement dancing in his eyes. "All stations report an all clear, sir. We are good to go!"
Icheb glanced over at Kathryn and Sisko, who had decided to join them for this. When he received equally eager smiles from them he took a breath and steadied himself. "Engage the device," he ordered, his eyes shooting to focus on the view screen apprehensively. The ship trembled slightly and Icheb turned to look at the Lieutenant at the engineering station sharply.
"It's just a minor fluctuation with the inertial dampeners, sir. Correcting the imbalance," the officer said, tweaking the controls. The ship stabilized again and it took a few seconds more before a brilliant flash of blue light covered the screen from the device powering on. The ship gave a sudden, jarring jolt as a wormhole exploded into life some distance before them. Everyone with a screen or window available gawked in amazement at the incandescently beautiful vortex spiraled in front of the ship.
Naomi eagerly set off to work, tracing the connection, her fingers flying over her console as she over it in deep concentration. "Proper stable link established. Wormhole leads to Delta Quadrant. Minor undulations in the neutrino waves, small chatter in the background, but nothing to worry about I think," she reported, scrutinizing the background noise. Jeremiah nodded and relayed the information as she worked.
"Checking wormhole stability... all seems to be within acceptable parameters!" Harry grinned.
They had done it! The mission was a success! A resounding cheer erupted from all corners of the ship. Back on the bridge Icheb shook Sisko's hand who congratulated him and his crew, and accepted an excited hug from his old Captain. Tom Paris pumped his fist. "This calls for a celebration!" he said excitedly, not having grown out of his boyish enthusiasm. "What do you say, sirs? Party in Fair Haven?"
"Sounds good to me," Icheb grinned, turning to the engineering station again. "Lieutenant Williams, disengage the device," he ordered, still smiling cheerfully.
"Aye sir!" Williams grinned back.
A little later, once the ship had been put in order and people settled down a little from their exuberance, small party was put together in the Sullivan's bar. The owner of the establishment was more than happy to host his friends, despite how odd they seemed to the members of the town, older somehow. The party was for anyone who had free time available to join, including members of the Defiant. Both ships mingled happily, transporting from either ship and having a good time. While Harry flirted with a waitress, Kathryn flirted with Michael, and B'Elanna rolled her eyes at all the flirting, Sisko stood talking up a storm to Tom, explaining his own struggle to get by Owen's particularly rigid sense of duty. Both men found common ground and were soon seen laughing and slapping each others backs amiably.
Icheb, dressed in appropriate Irish attire, raised a brow as a 'fair maiden' tried to talk 'sweetly' to him on his way to the tavern. Somehow, the way she was talking to him reminded him of one of the first and more embarrassing conversations he had with Naomi, months ago. The poor hologram was then 'sweetly' scared away by a rather severe red-head with a temper to match. "Hey honey-cheeks! I think there's a couple o' pigs fitt'n your style for you to flirt with over there? Why don't you be a good little tramp an' high-tail it outta here?" she growled in an appropriate accent.
The Irish setting was obviously well suited to her.
Icheb watched the poor 'girl' flush and huff angrily, stalking away. He turned back to watch as Naomi tried not to scowl the hologram's way. "Jealous?" he grinned as Naomi walked up to him, trying to keep things as distant from her as he could among the crew nearby but finding this too good to pass up.
"Not at all sir," Naomi disagreed, still in character. "I was simply rescuing you from that hussy," she bit out, brushing her hand idly over her frilly Irish dress. Yeah, name calling was immature, but she was not about to let some hologram flirt with her man. Icheb wasn't the only possessive one in the relationship. Naomi swatted away the sudden girly need to shiver in excitement; they actually had a relationship now, and she still felt like she was on cloud nine. Despite of course knowing it was dangerous and a complete distraction.
"Hussy?" Icheb's laughter was still clear in his voice. "Whatever you say, my Lady," he smirked, enjoying the reverse in jealousy roles.
Naomi rolled her eyes, her playful accent still going strong. "Oh don't sound so pleased with yourself. Why would I be jealous over you, Capt'in? You're easy on the eyes, to be sure, but cert'inly not my type," she lied, lifting her chin up, grinning when his eyes narrowed dangerously.
Is that how she wanted to play? Fine then, he could play. Icheb leaned in slightly, making sure no one heard him. "That's not what your body told me last night... and then many times again this morning, my 'bonnie lass'," he whispered, his eyes dancing.
Naomi was unable to stop that shiver this time, though for completely different reasons. She had long ago come to terms with that fact that Icheb was very good with sexual jokes, but it still surprised her every time he talked dirty. Just who taught him how to speak that way? Naomi felt herself heat up at his suggestive tone and at the very pleasant memories he had inspired in her. She cleared her throat and smoothed her hat. "That was then," she muttered, trying to bat her blush away, unwilling to let him win. "Come on, we should join the others before they come lookin' for us."
"Ladies first," Icheb gestured with his hand, wanting to take her arm like a 'gentleman' but knowing it might attract unwanted attention. Naomi bowed lady-like and led the way to the bar.
When they entered it, clapping made them pause. A lot of the crew went up to them, patting their backs and congratulating them on their efforts. Naomi was confused, she could understand why Icheb would be congratulated, being the one going behind everyone to make sure everything was working in order and as efficiently as possible. All she did though was align the signals, reinforce the scans, and connect the quadrants without the use of present quantum singularities? Well, okay, so maybe that was a little noteworthy.
"Cadet Wildman deserves the recognition, but I don't," Icheb told them in embarrassment. "I was merely the overseer. It was you, the crew, who did the real work!" he said, smiling over at each of them, and then setting his eyes on Naomi.
"Don't be so modest, Captain! If it weren't for you, spearheading the mission when no one else was capable, we wouldn't have gotten this far as soon as we did!" Tom argued. Tom had been promoted to Commander a few months before his invitation to the mission, but they hadn't asked him. Tom hadn't blamed them, he knew that he still had to prove himself to the brass as a leader and Captaincy straight off the bat might have been too much too soon. Honestly he relished the chance to prove himself. Besides, Icheb was turning out to be an excellent Captain.
"If it wasn't for your dedication to seeing that each operation was working flawlessly and without complaints, my job would have been a lot more stressful," Harry added.
"And you Naomi, your efforts on calibrating our sensors to such a distance without a wormhole already present? Spectacular!" B'elanna grinned, walking over to hug the younger woman. "Excellent job, little Wildman!"
"Here here!" Tom, Harry and a lot of the crew nearby cheered, lifting their glasses.
"You guys..." Naomi blushed, not feeling like she deserved such high acclaim. She was just doing her job.
"Cadet, she's right you know," Jeremiah grinned from his spot at the bar, lifting his own glass to her.
Kathryn beamed at them. "Icheb is right though," she began, handing him and Naomi a glass. "I would like to make a toast, to the crew of the newly minted Voyager-A. The ship lives up to its reputation of bringing out the very best in the people that serve aboard her! Captains, Lieutenants, Crewmen, and Cadets," Kathryn winked to Naomi. "You all deserve a round of applause and as much acclaim as any! To the crew!"
"To the crew!" they all shouted happily, lifting their glasses.
"All this celebrati'n without music? Boys! Play a lively one!" Michael Sullivan yelled to the band in the back.
Soon the band began playing a fun, rowdy tune, inspiring the crew and holograms alike to dance happily. Naomi found herself twirling from one dance partner to another, laughing at the fast-paced energetic beat and friendly atmosphere. Tom had temporarily parted from his lovely wife to pull the young woman into a silly twirl. What Naomi didn't know, however, was that he had spun her out right into Icheb's arms. The collision made them gasp at the sudden contact. Icheb had chosen against dancing to this music, feeling it was too energetic for his taste, and had merely stood back and watched... particularly a certain redhead. He hadn't expected Naomi to come barreling into him though and reacted as quickly as he could, catching her.
"So," Naomi panted from the excitement of the dance, slipping from his hold but not moving too far. "Are you going to dance with me, or just stand there looking handsome..?" Being close enough to feel his familiar heat inspired Naomi to trail off distractedly. As it had always been between them since they found each other again, his nearness drugged her. The excitement from the dance wasn't the only reason Naomi suddenly found herself out of breath. How could just being near him promote such a strong desire for him and so rapidly? At least standing that close to each other, they didn't have to worry about being overheard.
Icheb tried to get past his sudden nerves over dancing at such a fast-pace frequency by joking, though it probably wasn't the wisest way to speak while surrounded by so many of the crew. Even so, he could sense her attraction to him as clearly as he always could, and couldn't pass up the opportunity to tease her. "What sort of dancing do you want to do exactly? Irish folkdance, or a more traditional dance done behind closed doors?" he asked with a little smirk.
"Icheb..." Naomi muttered in exasperation, unable to hold back her blush, immediately getting his joke. "Seriously though, will you?" she asked again, offering him her hand.
"I..." Icheb grimaced, not wanting to deny her but at the same time seriously not up to dancing like that. Fortunately, or perhaps not, the senior officers were called to the bridge at that moment, by a very nervous sounding officer. Icheb looked around the room, meeting the worried gazes of each of his staff. "Return to your stations," he told the room, pulling away from Naomi. "Go with Lieutenant Jeremiah to Astrometrics," he told her as he stepped back and turned.
The sudden worry over the call. Right after they had established a wormhole, was enough to spur the crew into action immediately. They rushed to their stations as Icheb and the rest of the senior staff made it to the bridge. "Lieutenant Williams, what is it?" Icheb asked the nervous Lieutenant at the engineering station.
"We've received strange signals emanating from the spot where the wormhole had been, sir," the young man said anxiously.
Icheb turned to Harry, who didn't need to be told what he had to do, scrutinizing the reports closely. "He's right, sir."
"Can you put the signal through?" Icheb asked, heart in his throat. A signal from that spot could either mean an echo from where the Wormhole had been, a signal being transmitted from that general location coincidentally, or something or someone from the other side trying to investigate the link they established.
"Yes sir," the Lieutenant put the signal through and they frowned in confusion at the pulsing static with various beeps and flares.
"It sounds like..." Icheb's head tilted, his eyes narrowing in concentration. "Can you clear up the pattern?"
"No sir, the signal is too fragmented to clean from here," Williams explained.
Icheb let out a frustrated breath, crossing his arms to stop himself from fidgeting. "Alright, can you tell me where it originated from?"
The Lieutenant set off to discover the destination origin and winced, not liking the idea of giving so many negatives to his commanding officer. "...No sir, it appears to be coded."
Icheb nodded in understanding. This was why Astrometrics had been upgraded the way it was and why Naomi had been working so hard. "Icheb to Astrometrics."
"Yes, Captain?" Jeremiah responded.
"We've received signals from the wormhole location that we can not decipher from here. It is coded and highly fragmented. Can you and Cadet Wildman clear up the signal, establish its origin?"
Lieutenant Jeremiah only had to glance over at Naomi for her to know what she had to do. Naomi poured over the scans, reading the patterns and using the enhanced software, combined with her own modifications to clean it up. It took a few minutes, but once she finished, she flinched at what she found, recognizing the pattern. "Captain, the signal originated from the Delta Quadrant."
On the bridge, it wasn't just Icheb who froze with anxiety. "What else..?" Icheb asked, wishing he could be there to scan it himself.
"It..." Naomi frowned, not recognizing the coding. "One moment." Naomi set the scan to clear the frequency, unscramble the code and what she discovered made her recoil. "Sir, it's unmistakably Borg."
Icheb couldn't stop himself from pacing on the bridge in agitation. "Can you tell me what the signal is specifically?" he asked, trying to remain calm.
Naomi glanced to Jeremiah who shook his head, not recognizing Borg signals. Naomi focused and adjusted her scan, releasing a breath when she was finally able to decode it. "It looks like some sort of probe, sir, but I don't recognize the specific Borg signature. It doesn't look like they fully caught on to what had happened yet though. For all we know it might have been a cube passing by and saw the wormhole by chance. The strange frequency could be distortion from the distance."
"It's best not to take any chances," Icheb replied and felt the cold smothering feeling of fear. "Keep trying to decipher that signal. I want to know precisely what kind of probe that is."
"Aye sir," Naomi answered and got to work with the help of the Lieutenant.
Distance or not, a Borg signature she didn't recognize? Icheb knew for a fact that Naomi had been fascinated by the horrible machines for a long time, had 'assimilated' a lot of information on them as a child. Seven and her mother Samantha had been completely against her curiosity, but at the time Icheb had thought it was wise of her to know her enemy... so he had subtly given her more material to study. Seven never caught on and Naomi's knowledge on them had increased. The fact that she didn't recognize the signature of something as inconsequential as a probe was disturbing.
Kathryn Janeway and a lot of the crew had been swapping back and forth from one ship to the other as they mingled, but Icheb felt it was time to return the original crews. After calling the Defiant and orchestrating the return of their crews, with the exception of Sisko, he called for a yellow alert to prepare both ships and waited for him and Kathryn on the bridge. Once both Admirals arrived, they went with him to the ready-room. Icheb sat at his desk and sent a report to Starfleet, requesting to speak with the brass and waited with them for the response.
"You really think they're mustering an attack, don't you?" Sisko asked the former Borg, the lines of his face severe with tension. Whatever report Icheb had quickly typed up had the young Brunali staring pensively at his desk once he sent it.
"I believe it is a distinct possibility," the younger man replied simply. "Patrolling cube or not, if they study the link more and figure out how to tie it to Voyager, figure out how to open it again, they will use it to their advantage."
"The bit I know of the Borg compels me to agree," Sisko sighed, leaning back on his seat on the couch. His experience dealing with those monsters told him to trust the young Captain's judgment.
"All we can do now is wait and pray they lose interest," Kathryn muttered, twisting her cup of coffee nervously as she stared out the window.
The three had been waiting impatiently and debating possibilities for the better part of two hours. So far not a peep from the singularity location, but it didn't ease their anxiety. For all they knew it meant that the Borg were studying the signals, tracing it and quickly adapting, learning how to reinitialize the wormhole. Still, they had been waiting for a response for too long, though no doubt Starfleet was getting together everyone they could for this as efficiently as they could.
Icheb was about to go down to Astrometrics himself when his badge went off. "Sir, there's a call coming through from Starfleet," Harry mentioned.
"Put it through the main view screen in my ready-room," Icheb told him and stood to face the screen with the Admirals.
The three saw the familiar face of Admiral Paris looking back at them from Starfleet Command. "Captain Hansen, your report was terrifying," Admiral Paris said, his face twisted into dread. "You've shaken Starfleet to its bones and stirred them into a frenzy. An impending attack from the Borg, are you certain?"
"Every bit of training I received while in the maturation chamber tells me that they will not let the opportunity to get to Sector 001 pass them by," Icheb explained concisely.
"Well, it certainly warranted the formation of the fleet. Starfleet has sent as many ships to your location as it could spare in such a short time. You'll have to make due until more support arrives. If you will, Captain, adjust your codes to the following to join the fleet-wide conference communication." Paris transmitted the codes Icheb needed and once the younger man established them, the screen filled in with the faces of various Admirals and Captains. Icheb recognized most of them.
Admiral Picard stood on the bridge of the Enterprise-F, an Odyssey-class Dreadnought and the most powerful ship in Starfleet. Captain Va'Kel Shon, stood on one side of the Admiral, while Seven was visible a little ways back, no doubt at the science station. It seemed Picard hadn't wanted to pass up the chance to aid them. This time there was no Admiral Hayes to keep him away from fighting the Borg again.
Captain William T. Riker was on the Luna-class starship Titan. Beside him was his wife and diplomat officer Commander Deanna Troi-Riker, and on his other side was his first officer, though Icheb couldn't recall hearing her name before. Icheb had however heard of Troi's amazing track-record and prowess as a diplomat and counselor, but something about Betazoids always put Icheb on edge, despite knowing Troi was only half Betazoid.
Captain La Forge was on the Galaxy-class starship Challenger with the first independent Borg drone known as Hugh in the background. Last Icheb had heard of the unusual independent Borg drone, Third of Five, he had been leading a group of Borg rebels, trying to teach them individuality. They had successfully broken free of the control of the Android Lore and Hugh did all he could to lead them. Unfortunately, a lot of them still could not cope with the loss of the hive mind and it was aggravated when Hugh had tried to disconnect them from each other completely. They once again fell into disarray and the rebellion collapsed. The loss of his little collective had injured Hugh, who had made great strives in breaking through the collective.
In the end, he decided his time was better suited to providing intelligence to the Federation and underwent his own de-assimilation procedure. While he no longer sported as many implants as he once had, appearing as a man of short stature in his late thirties with light brown hair. His procedure was not as efficient as Voyager's doctor had been on Seven of Nine, Icheb, and the other Borg children. It was however obvious he was in the process of getting his last few done. Even so, Hugh had jumped at the chance in helping his old friend on the Challenger.
Captain Shelby was on the Nebula-class starship Sutherland. Icheb had once read that Elizabeth Shelby had been invited to the Titan as Riker's second in command, but she had evidentially decided against it and sought Captaincy instead. The two former rivals remained friends and it wasn't odd to find Captain Shelby's ship alongside the Titan.
And of course Captain Chakotay stood on the bridge of Voyager's original sister ship, the Intrepid. Chakotay and the rest of the former Maquis crew had suffered a lot of obstacles, but the Federation had decided in the end that over seven years of stellar service to Starfleet, bringing good name to the Federation, opening ways for allies in other parts of their galaxy to possibly join them in the future, and aiding them in returning their lost ship back home, facilitated in some leeway.
Chakotay had been the original intended Captain of Voyager, but he had turned it down, knowing what plans Starfleet had for the miniature warship and decideding he'd prefer to stick closer to home for a while. Instead he took on Captaincy of the Intrepid. Amazingly enough, as virtually identical as the Intrepid-class ship was to Voyager, Chakotay often found himself homesick.
"Captain Hansen. It's good to officially meet you, a shame it couldn't be under better circumstances," Picard said, receiving nods of agreement from a few of the others.
Chakotay leveled him with a friendly smile, happy to see the young man and proud of his accomplishments. His eyes lingered a second on Kathryn, before looking back to Icheb. Icheb found this a little interesting. He had been under the assumption that the older man and Seven had been a couple, at least, that was the rumor on Voyager ten years ago. Apparently, either they kept their relationship completely private, or they hadn't worked out. The look he gave their former Captain seemed to suggest he wasn't currently in a relationship with her. However, he might have been reading into it too much, as was usual for him no matter how old and mature he got.
Turning back to the expecting officers before him, Icheb nodded in greeting to them. "Likewise, Admiral. I've been an avid student of your career for a while," he responded, still feeling inadequate among them.
"Captain, we are traveling at maximum warp and will be at your location within the hour. How much time do you suspect we have?" The Andorian Captain of the newest Enterprise asked.
"There is no way to tell, Captain, I simply know for certain they will not let the opportunity slip by," Icheb answered.
"Voyager is equipped with modulating shield frequencies and transphasic torpedoes. How prepared are your ships?" Kathryn asked the general audience.
"The Enterprise, thanks to the help of Seven of Nine, has been refitted to fight the Borg," Picard explained, nodding to the civilian scientist near him.
"Yes, we are indeed grateful to her assistance. I believe she will be a valuable addition to the fleet during this crisis," Va'Kel Shon smiled to her as well.
Seven nodded back to them amiably and then smiled over to her adopted son. "Just give me the word and I will provide whatever assistance you may require," she told him, conveying her motherly affection to him through the distance. Icheb smiled back and nodded, feeling calmed by her presence.
"The Titan's shields are in the process of upgrading, but we have a full compliment of transphasic torpedoes," Captain Riker explained.
"The Sutherland is prepared for whatever comes our way, Admiral," Captain Shelby responded with confidence.
"Same goes for the Challenger," Captain La Forge nodded as he looked over a technical readout from Hugh.
Chakotay smiled to both of them. "The intrepid may not be as war-ready as her sister now is, but she's a tough little ship and can handle her own. We have full compliments of the latest warheads and our shields have been upgraded months ago, along with her ablative armor."
Icheb and Kathryn smiled and nodded toward Chakotay, glad to have him with them. "And the other ships?" Icheb asked with a tilt of his head, doing what he could to remove the tension in his shoulders.
"Most of the other ships are either prepared for the fight or being upgraded as we speak," Picard answered. "You seem concerned, Captain."
Icheb wondered how much of his stress he was broadcasting, feeling embarrassed from his apparent lack of control. "The signal we detected I do not recognize from any of my records, sir. I do not believe it is a technology any of us-" Icheb's eyes flicked toward Seven, "-are familiar with. I do not know how prepared we are in actuality."
Picard let out a tense breath and pursed his lips, nodding to him. "The best thing we can do now is hope it will be enough."
Icheb placed his hands behind his back. "Yes sir."
"Captain. I realize asking this of you, especially considering the unusual circumstance of your promotion, may be a bit much, but we need a fleet commander fully versed in Borg technology. Will you consider leading the attack?" Picard asked.
Icheb couldn't stop his jaw from unhinging slightly, eyes widening. "Sir! I..." he cleared his throat, trying desperately to control his shock and apprehension. "Would you not be better suited for this? Surely you know as much about the Borg as myself? Especially with Seven to aid you?"
Jean-Luc Picard regarded his question seriously. He had initially proposed to handle the fleet himself, but Starfleet had decided he had been too involved with the Borg and subsequent battles, too compromised and they felt they needed fresh eyes to direct the battle this time. Picard had been granted auxiliary power and the ability for him, Kathrine Janeway, or Seven of Nine, who all shared prior battle knowledge of the Borg, to take control should Captain Hansen be unable to lead them effectively. At least he wasn't tasked to monitor the neutral zone this time! Still, he did not wish to thwart the young Captain of a career defining and character building opportunity.
Picard decided a little white lie wouldn't hurt. "I'm afraid my time with the Borg has been too... traumatic." The former Borg Admiral inwardly grimaced, seeing the skeptical eyebrow raise in the youth's chiseled face. Maybe not. "Starfleet has decided on using a newer set of eyes to direct the battle. Your time as a Borg, however limited, will serve to catch the Queen off guard. From your own accounts it is reasonable to assume she knows a limited amount of you, mostly from your assimilation before she cut your cube off. If I led the fleet, she would recognize my strategies too quickly and adapt too soon," he explained.
Icheb resisted suggesting that Kathryn or even Seven take over, but knew that Kathryn was there mostly to monitor his progress. He also knew that Seven had been through enough with the Borg to want to be as much of a background assistant as she could, feeling better suited as a consultant than a soldier. Even so, the overwhelming feeling was tangling his thoughts and making him feel like sweating. How could he possibly be asked to take control of so many? Was all of his experiences leading him to this moment? He had experienced loss of control as a Borg drone, and now he was asked to take control of a figurative collective to fight them? "Sir, are you aware of my initial moments as a drone?"
"Yes, Captain Hansen," Picard nodding, giving the young man a look of sympathy. "I was made aware long ago. That does not dissuade me of my belief that you will be the fleet commander we need. I have been following your progress in Starfleet since you joined. You have impressed many, including myself. We know you are more than capable for this, otherwise I would not have brought it to your attention."
"I... thank you, Admiral," Icheb said, feeling quelled from hearing such high praise from one of the Captains he had idolized in his youth. Captain Kirk might have been a brilliant strategist, but Picard had been the first to tangle with the Borg in the original time-line, the first to become a Borg and then be rescued. He had fought tooth and nail and was the first to defeat the first incarnation of the Queen. If he thought Icheb could do it, then maybe he could? "I accept the responsibility, sir." Icheb was aware of the nonjudgmental, confident looks he was receiving from all of those on the view screen, each of them having endured a trial by fire once before, and felt relieved.
"Good," Picard nodded in approval and told him the code he needed to know to take control of the fleet. "Don't worry, Captain, part of being in a fleet means you're never far from comrades ready and willing to support you," Picard added with a meaningful smile. Icheb had to keep himself from smiling like a fool, comforted by the fact that the legendary former drone Admiral seemed to have taken a liking to him and was willing to support him. It seemed Icheb had found himself a mentor in the older man.
The ships had arrived within the hour as promised and coordinated a defensive position pattern around the location of the wormhole, preparing for the worst. While Kathryn saw to Sisko's return of his ship after discussing with him how the Defiant could better support them, as the ship was one of the smallest in the current company, Icheb stood with his arms crossed on the bridge. "Hansen to Astrometrics. Lieutenant Jeremiah, Cadet Wildman, talk to me, what kind of probe is it?"
"Unclear sir. I haven't been able to properly identify it. There are simply no records to match it. Maybe you would be able to recognize it better?" Naomi suggested, preparing to send the signal to him.
"Send it to the bridge," Icheb told her and went over to the Operations station, nodding to Harry when the older man stepped back for him. Icheb poured over the scan and frowned, deeply troubled when even he could not recognize it either.
"Sir?" Harry queried softly, resisting on placing a comforting hand on the younger man. He had seen the stress in him, the tensing of his shoulders, squaring of his jaw, and the way he braced himself over the console. Whatever Icheb had seen was not good, at all.
Icheb shook his head, not knowing what to say for a moment. "I just... don't know," he whispered to him, hoping to not alert the greener bridge crew of their Captain's distress. The signal was unlike anything he had ever seen. Whatever this was, had to be some sort of technology the Borg had developed after he had been rescued. It troubled him greatly that Voyager might just not be equipped to handle them after all.
"Understood," Harry nodded and stepped back to his post when Icheb pulled away.
Icheb took a deep breath and went over to sit at his seat, giving his head a slight shake when Tom leveled him with a questioning look. Three hours had past without so much as a peep from the Borg, but it only left them all the more uneasy. And then, a signal was detected and every view screen in the fleet tuned in to see a spark of light, a singularity struggling to reignite. Seconds later the wormhole burst into life and the fleet received reports of massive activity coming from it. Before they knew it, the familiar, terrifying visages of cubes began to pour through.
"Red alert, all hands to battlestations!" Icheb cried, rushing to take his seat in preparation. He spoke the codes he needed and signaled the fleet. "Fleet commander to all ships, initiate modulating shield frequencies and prepare to engage the Borg," he spoke into the com. Even as he issued the order, fear and self doubt gripped him with its icy bony fingers, seizing his hearts ruthlessly.
"Well this is familiar! Three cubes- wait, five, no eight, ...fifteen Borg cubes coming through!" Harry told them, gaping at the number. The number sounded familiar, did they always travel in packs of multiples of three? Or was it coincidence? One cube was difficult enough to fight, but fifteen? And the wormhole was still open. They knew that it wasn't only going to be that current amount, but they had no way of knowing just how horrible it would soon get.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Tom gaped.
The Federation had fought in a few battles against the Borg before, but it had usually only been against one. The Borg had attempted an invasion to the alpha quadrant with Admiral Picard beating them back. Only with his prior knowledge to that particular Queen's tactical motives was he able to destroy it and save them. Fifteen cubes meant the Queen wasn't taking any chances this time.
One of the cubes made a beeline directly toward them. The communication between the fleet was cut off sharply and the horribly mechanical disembodied voice of the Borg was clear for everyone to hear. "We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile."
When the fleet disregarded the Borg's suggestion and began to resist, the Borg took that as a sign they would have to be persuaded forcibly. Voyager's chief of security's fingers flew across his console, getting their own defenses and weapons online. "Captain, they are charging weapons."
"All hands, brace yourselves!" Tom yelled into the com. The glaring flash of an orange light was the only warning they got as Voyager violently rocked by the inevitable, brutal dual-bank beam attack.
TBC...
End A/N: Red matter, because if it exists in ONE universe, it can surely exist in others. Red matter belongs to Paramount. By the way, this chapter with all the techno-military-babble was both frustrating and very fun to write, just so you know. This chapter influenced by the atmospheric music "Transgenic" by Trifonic.
Shout-Out
The Cheshire Cheese: Thank you, the reason I worry a little is because I'm capable of writing much more explicitly and sometimes forget to filter myself. But if you feel I'm good to go then so be it! That fanfic sounds familiar, I might have read it years ago I dunno. About what you said on the medical advancements, SHHH! I know already lol I have... plans. Ehem.