One of One

by zArkham

As the USS Voyager becomes embroiled in the war between the Borg & Species 8472, a strange anomaly is detected on the Borg Cube where Captain Janeway is negotiating for the life of her crew and maybe for all life in the Delta Quadrant. Within that anomaly hides a centuries old secret. A being who found that resistance was not futile and will continue to resist till the end.

3. The Gift

PRIME DIRECTIVE: Space may be the final frontier, but I'll never get there by any monies derived from this as Harry Potter and all properties of such are owned by the Dark Lady JKR. All content, characters related to Star Trek are owned by Paramount Pictures, Inc....except maybe some of that stuff that ended up being used in Starfleet Battles which is owned by the Amarillo Design Bureau who used that content via the Starfleet Technical Manual by Franz Joseph Schnaubelt and published by Ballantine Books.

XxXxX

CHAPTER THREE – THE GIFT

(Episodes: ST:VOY Scorpion Part 2 and The Gift)

(ST:VOY References: The episode Unity)

(ST:TOS References: Characters from the episode Space Seed & ST:TWoK)

XxXxX

PITHY STATEMENT RELATING TO THIS CHAPTER: "I have learned that if you must leave a place that you have lived in and loved and where all your yesteryears are buried deep, leave it any way except a slow way, leave it the fastest way you can. Never turn back and never believe that an hour you remember is a better hour because it is dead." (West of Night)Beryl Markham – English-born Kenyan, Bush pilot, author and adventurer. First person to fly a solo, non-stop flight over the Atlantic – 1902-1986

LAST UPDATED ON: 01-29-2024

XxXxX

Captain's Log, Star Date 51008.3. While it is expected that the Borg will be busy with the aftermath of its war with Species 8472, the danger to Voyager is not over. Now that the Borg are not under attack, it may well be that Voyager is a primary target due to the Collective knowing of the Doctor's 29th Century mobile emitter. We are making the best speed we can while maintaining long-range scans for Borg transwarp signatures. Can we get far enough away given how deep it appears Borg space is in this region of the Delta Quadrant?

Unfortunately, the stress on the crew is taking its toll. It was one thing to risk the Northwest Passage through Borg space because except for Chakotay and our two veterans of the Battle of Wolf 359, the Borg may as well been the bogeyman of our childhood. Now, however, the threat and reality of assimilation is all too real to the crew...and to me.

Voyager's crew was picked from the best and brightest explorers the Federation had to offer. Chakotay's Maquis crew were made up of fiery, passionate sentients who refused to bow down to what they saw as injustice. All that passion for exploration and revolutionary fire would be snuffed out to leave behind a shell, a slave to the Collective.

I'm beginning to understand all too well why so many people choose death before they allow themselves to be assimilated. Better an honest death, even by one's own hand, than living as a puppet wearing one's own face. I fear for the crew. Even as we managed to pull off an amazing escape from the Borg and Species 8472, the reality that we are one ship adrift among a sea of potential enemies where there are literal dragons waiting to swallow us up has never been more apparent.

SICK BAY, USS VOYAGER, SECTOR 776, DELTA QUADRANT – STAR DATE 51008.7

Chakotay entered Sick Bay and nodded to the two crew members on security duty. Both responded with a quiet, "Commander." He was relieved to see that they were alert but didn't seem tense. Chakotay made his way to where Tuvok was sitting at one of the auxiliary workstations. "How is everything going down here?"

Tuvok did not look up as his fingers danced over the controls. Chakotay had always marveled at how fast Vulcans could work a computer. "Things remain at once calm and chaotic, Commander. While it is quiet, how long will this last? Moreover, it is difficult to try and absorb the needs of the new guests at the same time being vigilant to the Borg and this Harry Potter's Borg-like ship. Then there is Seven of Nine acting as Mister Potter predicted to the Captain."

"And Kes?" Chakotay said quietly as he watched her assist the Doctor working on Seven.

Tuvok looked up at Chakotay, "I wish I could give you a better answer, Commander. She is already exhibiting traits which are normally seen only in more transcendent beings."

Chakotay frowned at this, "Are you saying she's turning into a Q?"

"I am saying that her powers are rare in species such as ours. However, these same powers may very well be the reason the Caretaker did what he did to try and save the Ocampan. For all we know, the Caretaker itself might have been an adult Ocampan and Kes is, to use an analogy, a larval form of that species," Tuvok said in the flat voice he always used when there was little logic in the data before them.

"What have you found out regarding Harry Potter? Anything?" Chakotay asked. He felt it better to get off the subject of Kes. It was just too much for him right now.

"No. Sadly the time frame his words implied place him before the end of Earth's Third World War. Computer analysis of his accent places him in the outer, west end of London. Given that out of the three nuclear devices targeted at London, the one which detonated over Heathrow Airport would have wiped out the entirety of the region with that accent. As the United Kingdom was highly centralized in London, those strikes wiped out most of the historical data of that time and before. There is, however, one intriguing report related to the mysterious ally to Khan Noonien Singh with the codename of the Phoenix."

Chakotay nodded, "Ah yes, the legendary assassin known as the Reaper by his enemies. His actions are almost something out of myth if it weren't for the evidence which survived the War. I know a lot of Maquis certainly like to read about his exploits. So how does this relate to Mr. Potter?"

Tuvok, "There are two surviving recordings from Khan's battle staff. They were taken during planning sessions prior to major offensives. In both of these, there are references to the Phoenix. Why it relates is due to the fact both commanders sometimes refer to the Phoenix by the name Potter instead."

Chakotay mulled this before nodding, "Slim, but it does fit. I'm sure you've upped the security on him? If he is the Phoenix, he's dangerous."

Tuvok nodded, "I have, commander."

Chakotay smiled, "Good man. Well keep on it but it's not a huge priority. As you said, it's quiet now but that could change in an instant. Right now, I think you're better off dealing with the Kes...situation. Her new powers could be a great help. But, as you fear, her learning to control it onboard the ship could be an issue."

"I hesitate to suggest this, but it may be prudent to broach the idea to Mr. Neelix that he and Kes leave Voyager at the first major port of call we can find," Tuvok said slowly.

Chakotay frowned and was about to disagree before thinking on what might happen to hull integrity if Kes' powers interrupted it and the hull-integrity fields at the high warp speed they needed to put distance between Voyager and the Borg. "I'll bring it up to the Captain."

XxXxX

Harry looked at desolate flats that stretched to the horizon which shimmered in the heat. This land had been barren, desolate and left undisturbed for most of human history. Even after the first humans landed and spread throughout this land, the Aborigines trekked through it quickly or risked having their bones bleached under the relentless sun. That peace had been shattered a decade ago when the meteorite had been found. Suddenly a rare earth mineral wasn't so rare. A mineral vital in construction of a new alloy which could repulsed some of the strongest radiation the sun or the universe in general could throw at them. The Ares missions were possible because of it, although NASA and the ESA had used up most of the known amounts of the mineral to do it.

Harry knew if the secret of this got out, a lot of various groups fighting in the war would all make it a priority to get it. However, once again, Harry had to admire Khan's ruthlessness. Other leaders might look at the numbers and see the tide turning against them and plot to turn defeat to victory. History was filled with such victories. Khan, however, had told him such leaders were lauded for their victory when they should have been despised for the risk they took. Everyone loves a winner, but the cost if they had failed would have been everything. A better bet was always to retreat, regroup and fight again rather than risk it all. Even a Gryffindor as he was, Harry saw the Slytherin logic to this.

Khan wasn't going to lose everything. He had looked at the numbers. Saw how disease, radiation and war were decimating both sides. How the war had many factions, factions allying, betraying and re-allying again as different groups grew in ascendancy. Harry saw it too. No group was strong enough to win. All were weak enough to lose.

Thus, Khan decided that he would take the option which Harry had provided for his own people, retreat. While his forces unknowingly continued to fight for their various causes, sure that the Great Khan would pull out a win via his superior intellect, Khan and his cadre of 'improved' followers were working to leave the solar system entirely.

Joachim turned to Harry and gestured toward the sleeper ships nestled in their construction cradles, "Marvelous, isn't it?"

Harry shrugged, "I will say what I've always said. Khan is a tyrant and a butcher. Yet I cannot fault that he sees things as they are and not how he might wish it to be. Others would see this as cowardice and betrayal of the worst sort. I see it as refreshingly pragmatic."

Joachim's eyes narrowed, "You should show the Great Khan more respect!"

"And you shouldn't threaten someone who can kill you before you blink more than twice," Harry said. "I've earned the name The Reaper for a reason . Besides, Khan once told me he had his fill of toadies and zealots. If he were here, I'm sure he'd be laughing and trying to once again convince me to go on your ship."

Joachim scowled, "It's a great honor!"

Harry shook his head. "No. Khan has you and all of the rest of you. He is your Moses. I, on the other hand, am simply trying to save what I can. Regardless of what happens here, I want to ensure what was will be remembered."

"Earth is doomed. Anyone with the courage to see knows this," Khan's main lieutenant scoffed.

"No, humanity is likely doomed. Good old Mother Earth will get through this. I remember watching a famous American comedian one night while rocking my son James asleep. He talked about how people use to say, 'Save the Planet!' but he pointed out that the Earth had survived through terrible calamities throughout the ages. It was the humanity that needing saving. Still, a few of my seers thought there was hope that humanity would go through the crucible of nuclear fire and come out the other side better for it. I hope that is true. However, like your master, I am not going to put my faith in hope. Fate favors those who make their own destiny."

Joachim growled an unintelligible curse and stalked away. Harry paid him no mind. For all Khan's claim that his people were genetically superior, too often they might as well be wearing the green and silver of Slytherin with Draco Malfoy as their spiritual leader. Harry hoped that Khan lived long and had many descendants that he taught his own personal creed to. Too many of his followers were one step from seeing any non-engineered human as a mere mudblood. He'd seen too many death camps during the decade as it was. He hoped Khan's heirs would keep his people from doing what they themselves were fighting Green's forces to prevent.

Harry shook his head and looked back at the Phoenix. The ship that would take people he felt were too important to lose to the nuclear fire which was coming. The people who were so important in peace time, the dreamers, the artists, the builders. Let Khan take his biologically enhanced legions away from the fated nuclear fire. Let him carve out a new empire among the stars. Harry would settle for a new Florence, filled with art, beauty and a memorial to what humans were capable of before fear, greed and hate had led them down the path of self-destruction.

XxXxX

CONFERENCE ROOM, USS VOYAGER, SECTOR 396, DELTA QUADRANT – STAR DATE 51010.2

Janeway listened to Tuvok make his report. It was important but right now she had other things on her mind. Now that they were 9,500 light years from where they had been, Janeway felt maybe it was time to address them. "I'm sorry Tuvok," she interrupted. "That all can wait. I just want to focus on the larger picture. We have time for the minutia later."

Rather than looking affronted at the interruption, Tuvok merely nodded, "Of course, Captain." before sitting down.

Janeway took a long pull from her cup of scalding black coffee and then looked at her command staff for a moment. "Right now, our top priority is to find somewhere close by to take some time to rest. A Class-M planet that won't kill us with viruses or even a port with sentients we don't have to worry about trying to kill us to take our ship. We need to rest."

Chakotay frowned, "Captain?"

Janeway shook her head, "I'm tired Commander. I am bone tired. I'm betting that the crew is probably just as, if not more so, than I am. We've been on red alert since we arrived. With Kes' gift of being tossed out of Borg space, I think before we proceed, we need to take a bit of time to rest and restock. Besides, safety from the Borg comes at a price. We're a long way from areas Mr. Neelix is familiar with. We need some time to prepare because we have a mission that takes precedence over getting back to Earth."

Janeway held up her hand at the hubbub this generated, "Before Harry Potter passed out, he told me something that sadly I had forgotten till recently. Which is exactly why we need to rest. We've all been making little mistakes and we need to get our edge back before little mistakes become big disasters."

"Mistakes, captain?" Chakotay asked.

"We're not on our game, Chakotay. It's as simple as that. Look at what just happened. Kes was losing control of her powers. I led her through the ship to the shuttle bay, risking lives and the ship with it. I wasn't thinking. None of us were. Now that we're away from the Borg, let me ask you this; what should have I done?" Janeway asked.

For almost a minute, the staff looked at each other, trying to divine what the captain was implying. Finally, Tuvok spoke up, "Your priority should have been to get Kes off the ship. Full stop."

Janeway pointed a finger at Tuvok, "Exactly! Get her off the ship! Our desire to help her and get her to where she needed to be should have been secondary. And we could have done both at the same time. But as I said, we all weren't thinking. So, again, how should we have proceeded?"

This time it was Lieutenant Commander Torres who spoke, "You should have treated her like a damaged warp core and ejected her. There is a life-pod about 5 meters from her cabin."

JLT Paris spoke up, "Right! While putting her in the pod, call to have someone pilot a shuttle to her. She and the pilot switch places so we could tractor the pod back to the ship. We had plenty of time for that to have worked."

"And we wouldn't be needing to fix all the damage she caused," Chakotay mused.

"Or instead of risking a shuttle, we could have just left her in the pod and moved the ship to a safe distance," SLT Mohindra said. "She was phasing and either would have controlled it, lost control or did whatever she actually did. If she had been able to control it, we could have easily picked her back up. From there she could have stayed or left to go it alone in a shuttle. Or maybe leave with Mr. Neelix in the Baxial if he didn't want to be left behind."

Janeway had a satisfied look on her face as she smiled, "And that's the type of thinking we need to maintain if we're going to get back home. So right now, that's our main priority."

Paris spoke up, "So what's the important mission, Captain?"

"Harry Potter told me that there is another Federation ship out there which was taken by the Caretaker. The USS Equinox. We're going to find her, link up with her and we're both are going to get back home," Janeway said. "The Equinox is a short-ranged Nova class ship. Unless they somehow come across a wormhole or singularity back to the Alpha Quadrant, I can't see them surviving."

"It's a miracle they've lasted this long," ENS Kim muttered softly as he looked at the details of the Equinox on his PADD.

Janeway nodded and turned to the EMH. "First off, Doctor, what is Mr. Potter's condition?"

The Doctor sighed, "I wish I had a better answer than 'I'm not sure' but there it is. However, regardless of how difficult it is to get any sort of reading on him, I think he is recovering. I've also noticed that I believe he is somehow still in contact with his ship."

Tuvok nodded, "That his armored suit moved to Sick Bay supposedly on its own volition would support that theory."

The Doctor sighed again, "Beyond that, I have little to go on. Still, his skin color continues to get better. Like the drones, he does have nanites in his blood stream. I didn't notice it before but these nanites are subtly different than their Borg counterparts. I do believe you were correct, Captain, in thinking they will act as an anti-assimilation shield. I also believe he has some form of control on the nanotechnology in his body and he's trying to regain the ability to move again."

Tuvok leaned forward, "While I cannot read his thoughts, I can feel a great deal of mental energy around him. I believe that as Mr. Potter is working on his body, he is also working on his mind and memories as well. It is likely that when this process is complete, he will wake fully capable of thought and action."

Janeway took another drink of coffee before nodding, "Good. I'm hoping he has a better record of Borg data than we have. Even if Seven was inclined to help us, I doubt she knows about the Equinox. So Mr. Potter's data is critical."

Janeway turned to Chakotay, "How are our lost lambs doing?"

Chakotay made a face, "As well as one could expect from being assimilated and then waking up to find it's decades to centuries past your last memory before the Borg."

LCDR Torres chuckled, "Warg and Korath still seem to be having trouble wrapping their heads around the Empire and the Federation being allies. Ventrys is fitting in nicely. I'm not surprised given how science officers are hardly treated with respect in the Klingon Navy. She might never admit it but Voyager is practically Sto-Vo-Kor for the likes of her."

Tuvok spoke up, "Myself along with Lieutenant Sohn and Ensign Vorik have been working daily with the Romulans. That they make up the bulk of the Lost after humans, gives us a good indicator of where Borg incursions took place. This is consistent with what the USS Enterprise found prior to the Battle of Wolf 359."

"The USS Gagarin was close to what would become Romulan space later when she was lost," Janeway mused. "How are they doing?"

Tuvok frowned, "It is difficult to say. Romulans by nature are a secretive, one might even say paranoid people. However, the communal nature of the Collective seems to have made an imprint upon them. They are much more open than I would have expected. For the present, they and the rest of the Lost are more concerned about doing whatever it takes to return to the Alpha Quadrant."

Torres spoke up, "It helps that except for Commander Tahl and Crewman Yin, most of the Romulans were taken by the Borg before any hostilities happened between the Romulan and Klingon Empire. They don't have the deep-seated hostility to the Federation either. As Tuvok said, even they are more concerned about getting home than the fact they're on a Federation ship."

"If I may, Captain, I've done a bit of research and I believe the major issue will be with Treana, the Orion," Neelix said carefully.

Janeway sighed, "All the way out in the deep end of the Delta Quadrant and we somehow end up with an Orion slave girl. They're like a bad penny that keeps turning up. Beyond the obvious talents these Orions are known for, does she have any skills?"

Neelix nodded, "Surprisingly, she has a good head with astrometrics as that was her duty as a drone. However, till she is more fully recovered, she has expressed an interest in helping me in the kitchens. Again, from my research, Orions are a very social oriented race. While I understand it might be…unwise to provide temptation to the crew, Treana has been cut off from the type of social interaction her species craves."

Janeway thought about it, "Give that a try, Mr. Neelix. Hopefully with the fans in your kitchen, we can mitigate her pheromones. However, as much as Seven has been reluctant to help, between her and Mr. Kim, we might yet find a use for her and her astrometric skills."

She turned to her command staff, "As of now, our priority is finding a safe haven for a bit. We need to take stock of our supplies and assess our personnel. We have twenty new potential crew members to think of. Also, we need to look at our own crew, Maquis and Federation. We've been running on inertia out of necessity. All sections need to come together and start asking hard questions. In a normal cruise, we'd have crew that weren't making the grade and been replaced. Obviously, we can't do that. So let's not look at what various crew members have been doing and start thinking about what they should be doing."

Chakotay nodded at this, "I agree, Captain. I've been thinking a lot about that lately. My crew were slotted where we needed them at the time, but that hasn't always worked out."

Neelix cleared his throat, "Captain, I don't mean to butt into your Federation business but I also think you and the crew have been ignoring something obvious for far too long."

Both Tuvok and Janeway's lifted an eyebrow in an identical display of surprise. It was rare for Neelix to even appear to be confrontational. "Go on, Mr. Neelix. Now is exactly the time to hear out-of-the-box thinking," Janeway said.

Neelix frowned and shook his head, "You see, Captain, that's the problem. I'm not bringing up some out-of-box things. I'm talking about life. I know this ship is at once a ship of exploration that can double as a warship. Such a vessel needs the type of discipline that Mr. Vulcan is so fond of."

Torres, Paris and Kim all couldn't help but chuckle at this. Neelix smiled briefly before continuing. "My point, Captain, is that I believe you will need to shift some of your attitudes away from what you're used to. I've been reading about your human history, it's stories and legends. It is enlightening and I think it explains what I've been seeing."

"And what might that be, Mr. Neelix?" Tuvok asked.

"You're expecting to pull some amazing solution to your problem out at the last minute. Don't get me wrong! That seems to be the Captain's stock and trade. However, no matter how many disasters we've all lived through, you've been in the Delta Quadrant for almost three years now. I know this crew will never give up trying to find a faster way home, but the fact remains that just surviving the long trip home is going to be a huge achievement."

Neelix hesitated.

"It's alright, Mr. Neelix. Say what you have to say," Janeway prompted.

"Captain, there is more to life than duty shifts and hours in the holodeck. As you said, on a normal cruise, crew members would come on as others left. Life would go on. But right now, life isn't going on on Voyager and it needs to. You all need to start thinking about the reality of now instead of looking forward to the day you return to the Alpha Quadrant. You all know the number but you keep pretending it doesn't exist. 75 years, Captain. That was the original estimate of the time it would take to get back to the Alpha Quadrant.

Neelix paused to take in the grim faces around him, "I know it's easy to think about your home again given Kes threw you 10 years closer. But the fact still is still that you're still facing a voyage of a little over 60 years. Even with your amazing Federation technology, many won't live long enough to get home and those that do will be very old. So, as it stands now, I believe unless serious changes or made, you'll never get home because you won't have enough of a crew to man Voyager as it is run now.

SLT Mohindra let out a small sigh, "Captain, Neelix is right. Right now, we have only one child on board. I doubt she, Commander Tuvok and maybe the Romulans will be able to get this ship home after the rest of us are too old or dead to fly it."

Janeway's face was stony, "Mr. Neelix, Voyager wasn't designed to be a generation ship."

Neelix, however, did not back down, "Nor was it designed to be stranded so far from home but here you are. I understand better than you realize, Captain, what is going on. I hear the crew talk day in and day out. I hear their fears, their dreams and how they need more than a vague promise of getting home. They need a life of their own. Your fraternization rules have been unwieldy, and if I may say, unintentionally cruel."

"Mr. Neelix, a good many of the crew, myself included, have spouses and family waiting for us at home," Tuvok said archly.

"So? Maybe that might work for you, Mr. Vulcan, who can live past four human lifetimes. I am just saying that you all need to face up to the fact that you may never leave this ship alive, even if it does indeed make it back like I'm sure it will. Watching this crew under the conditions thrown at it has been one of constant delight and amazement to me. But the truth is, you must plan for the long trip even as you never give up working on making it a shorter trip."

The room was silent as they waited for what the captain would say. Those who knew her the best knew that Mr. Neelix's words went against her style of leadership.

Neelix nervously cleared his throat again and looked uncomfortable, "I also feel that I must, as you Terrans say, bring up the elephant in the room. By your own Federation rules, this ship has already been declared lost. Your families, the spouses and children have been notified. They may have hope but the reality will be they see you as dead and gone. Even now, many of them are moving on, trying to put their lives back together. They will move on and forge new lives for themselves. I am merely saying that even if Voyager makes it back in a few years, your families may have moved on. Spouses will have remarried, new children born. Life goes on as it must. How will you all react to that? Do you expect them to put their lives on hold for the slim chance of your return? Would you want them to? If not, do you expect them to feel any different if you return with your own new partners and children?"

Again, the room was silent. Surprisingly, it was Tuvok that broke the silence, "A most logical and succinct appraisal of our situation, Mister Neelix." He turned to Janeway, "Captain, as much as I'm sure it pains all here, Mr. Neelix is correct. It would be irresponsible for us to deny our younger crew members the life many of us left behind in the Alpha Quadrant. Also, as the years go by, things will become difficult for many of us. Ensign Vorik's brush with the Pon Farr will happen again. Also, if this voyage stretches on past one Pon Farr cycle, even bonded such as I and Lieutenant Sohn will begin to feel the effects again. As Mr. Neelix said, our families have been appraised of the disappearance of Voyager. It would be illogical for my wife T'Pel to forgo starting a new life after the appropriate time of mourning has passed. And yes, Mr. Neelix is correct, while it would be a difficult situation, both T'Pel and I would see the necessity of it if we were returned to the Alpha Quadrant sooner rather than later."

Janeway gave Tuvok a flat look, "We have enough problems on this ship; you want to add the pitter-patter of little feet, Tuvok?"

Before the Vulcan could reply, Mohindra spoke up, "I certainly do."

Janeway looked at her science officer, "Really Tridiva? You never struck me as the motherly type."

Mohindra's face turned cold, "That is because regardless of how long we've been on Voyager, we mostly still do not know each other, Captain. The rules almost mandate it. I think Mr. Neelix has hit the nail on the head. Yes, we need rules and discipline. Yet we've been acting like any day now we could pull into Space Dock and it'll be all over. None of us really reach out past our immediate rank given we don't want to look like we're fraternizing. I understand we needed it to keep it together at first. But Mister Neelix is right. We can't keep ignoring that the chance of getting back to the Alpha Quadrant quickly is extremely low. I took an oath to Starfleet, but that oath didn't mean I am willing to give up my life. Frankly, it's either change or a lot of us will resign to begin families and we all know we can't afford that either."

Again, there was silence as they all waited for Janeway.

Suddenly Torres chuckled, "As Neelix said, let's talk about the elephant in the room. I'm tired of the holodeck or personal time. I want to get laid with a real person. But as Tridiva said, finding a partner with the rules as they are? Not easy. Like Neelix, I've been listening to my team. I've noticed a lot of the scuttlebutt is turning from sex to longing for belonging and stability. It's going to take some draconian measures to keep things as they are now, Captain."

Janeway face was still blank but suddenly she chuckled. This turned into a small laugh before she got herself back under control. "Thank you, B'Elanna. As ever, you go straight to the point. Yes, I guess we have...I have been holding on to tightly. I can hardly say we need rest and relaxation and not expect the crew to want to do just that."

"You know Captain, it might not be so bad," Chakotay pointed out. "We have lost crew and we'll most certainly lose more. I'm betting the USS Equinox is in the same boat. So they'll need crew replacements. Doing that will free up more room here on Voyager. Who knows? We've never really thought about it, but we have ended up in a lot of scraps where we could have taken a ship or at least demanded one. Hell, given this Harry Potter was able to clean up all those former drones, we might have an opportunity there. I wish he'd had been onboard when I encountered all those drones who had been severed from the Collective. Instead of them having to form a new Collective of their own, they could have been flying that Cube with us right now."

"Now there is some out-of-the-box thinking!" Janeway quipped. "Alright, we all have a lot to think about and a lot of plans to make." She turned to Neelix, "Beyond your normal duties, I would like you to start looking at how we might be able to maintain discipline while at the same time loosening things up. I think your status as an outsider will help."

Neelix nodded, "I would be happy and honored to do so, Captain. If I may, I feel the 'pitter-patter' of little feet will do more for morale than all the chaos the little ones will create."

Janeway nodded at that before suddenly sighing with her shoulders sagging, "I miss my dog, Mollie."

Everyone present all found something else to look at. All knew what such an admission it had been for the captain to say it. In one phrase, she was acknowledging she may have been wrong to stick with things as they had. It also showed that she was just like everyone else; the reminder of what they lost and may never get again was always there.

XxXxX

UNIMATRIX 01, SECTOR 624, DELTA QUADRANT – STAR DATE 51012.2

The Borg queen let the data wash over her. The war against Species 8472 had created massive set-backs to many Borg plans and offensives throughout the galaxy. With so many Cubes in the Delta Quadrant destroyed, others from around Borg space had to be rerouted to ensure that none of the lesser races tried to take advantage of the Borg's misfortune.

This was putting stress on the two semi-stable wormholes the Collective used into the Beta Quadrant. It also made the push towards the so-called Bajoran Wormhole from the Gamma Quadrant to the Alpha Quadrant to grind to a halt for the time being. Thus, the attack on Species 116 to attain their slip-stream technology was the main focus now for the Collective.

Even with the nanoprobe weapons being manufactured and hopefully improved on, the Borg Queen was worried. The beings from Fluidic Space had retreated for now but just as the Borg had adapted, the Queen knew it would be folly to think that Species 8472 was not working on a counter. Now the situation all rested on what they would do now that the Borg had dismantled the infrastructure they had created to penetrate Fluidic Space.

Would Species 8472 be content to remain in their space if the Borg continued to do the same?

The Queen also had found another wrinkle from the latest war. For decades, the Queen had felt a presence in the Collective. One that reeked of Death. To the Borg, death was irrelevant because no drone truly died as they lived on in Borg collective hive-mind. Yet for the Queen herself, this touch of Death stirred an old primal fear long buried in her. Reaching all the way back to when the Queen had not yet taken the step to become the first Borg.

Over the many decades, the Queen had felt this presence and while she was loathed to admit it, the presence frightened her. Yet it was difficult to define what was causing the presence to manifest. However, she soon realized that one thing which always caused a manifestation was when she initiated system-wide diagnostics and various upgrades to the Borg as a whole.

This unnerved her enough to do such actions in stages even if it was inefficient. This localized the issue to the Delta Quadrant. She had further relaxed certain protocols of these actions which always had caused the presence to appear. And she had wanted the presence to go away as it had taken only one terrible time to almost bring her to her metaphorical knees. This happened after she had ordered a Borg combat group into battle which she had fully expected all the Cubes to be destroyed as a diversion.

Almost instantly after her orders had been given, the presence had been all around her. The feeling of death leeching into her digital soul. There was menace as well as fear. It was obvious to the Queen that whatever this presence was, it was linked to the Borg somehow. It feared for its existence.

Before the icy tendrils of fear and death had gotten too much for the Queen to bear, she had called off the attack. She'd even gone so much to rig a sub-routine where all the Cubes of that armada were partially screened from her active notice. The Queen felt the less she knew, the better. Investigating was surely going to provoke a response.

She had not been surprised that as Species 8472 had been rampaging through Borg space in the Delta Quadrant, that the presence had returned. Yet it had felt different to the Queen. More like it was immersing itself more into the Collective to monitor what was going on.

In reviewing the massive amounts of data she simply could not handle during the attack, the Queen had found that right before Cube 10100110100 destroyed itself to protect the rogue Federation ship Voyager, that the presence had disappeared. She had not realized it, given the chorus of voices that was the Borg Collective, but for over 200 years, the presence had always been there. Quiet, lurking, like an avatar of Death, watching and waiting for the inevitable.

Now that the presence was no longer attached to the Borg (or at least in a way she could detect) the Queen had reviewed every iota of data from that cube. She was able to pinpoint exactly when the presence became known to the Borg. The presence had come into the Collective when they had assimilated a sleeper ship on the outer reaches of the Alpha Quadrant. The ship had fallen through a micro-wormhole and had ended up on the far edges of the Quadrant. Coming out of such a wormhole had caught the attention of Cube 10100110100 which had been part of an advanced scouting party. They had traveled through a wormhole which only lasted a few transitions but it had remained open long enough for Cube 10100110100 to assimilate the ship and return to the Delta Quadrant.

After this, she had designated the Alpha Quadrant to be a low priority given if such a ship could have traveled as far as it had, then the number of space-faring races were low. While the Borg looked to assimilate biological and technological distinctiveness, the truth was it was rare for something truly unique to assimilate. Therefore, the Borg searched for more advanced races to assimilate and it seemed the Alpha Quadrant had little to offer. That turned out to be a flawed assumption and that it had come from the very humans who would later prove so difficult to the Borg's efforts in the Alpha Quadrant was galling.

The Queen saw how over time, drones had gone missing. Nothing overt, nothing easily noticed amid the huge machine-mind that was the Borg. Now, however, as the Queen focused her collective will, such machinations were easily exposed. She watched as Cube 10100110100 began to manifest an aberration on its hull. How, right before destroying itself, this aberration had ejected and latched onto the only vessel in range.

Voyager.

The Queen physical form frowned. Voyager was where one of her pet projects had ended up. Worse, this presence had worked to ensure Seven had been the one to interact with Janeway. Given its previous collection of Alpha Quadrant drones, had Seven just been in the right place at the wrong time or did this presence know of the Queen's plans for Seven and Earth?

The Queen shivered. Even in a memory in the data-stream, the Queen hated how the presence dredged up feelings, long thought lost. Even the lure of 29th century technology was not enough for her to push forward. She had to be careful.

Luckily, the Borg Queen was the soul of patience. Voyager's mission to return to the Alpha Quadrant was obvious. There was plenty of time to covertly watch and collect data. Again, this presence might have taken Seven simply because she was on the Cube and from the Alpha Quadrant. Indeed, it might even unwittingly help Seven get to Earth and then her revenge on that pathetic planet would be complete!

XxXxX

DINING HALL, USS VOYAGER, SECTOR 396, DELTA QUADRANT – STAR DATE 51014.2

"Gah! Neelix! Are you trying to kill me? Or did you switch my meal for Warg's?" Paris said as he fought to keep from spitting out the food in his mouth. Harry Kim snickered slightly even as he picked at his own plate.

Neelix continued to stir the boiling pot in front of him, "I'm sorry, Tom. A lot of our stores were damaged or destroyed with all that Borg nonsense. Until we can pull into a port of call or find a compatible planet, my options are very limited."

Torres sighed as she eyed what Tom was eating, her own meal as yet untouched, "You know Neelix, I'm not sure even Warg would eat this. I know I'm not thrilled and I'm half Klingon."

Before anyone else could speak, one of the doors to the mess hall opened and everyone was startled to see Harry Potter slowly walk in. He was wearing the standard issue grey jumpsuit from the emergency stores.

Kim looked at Torres and quietly said, "What is he doing here without a security detail?"

Torres shrugged and just watched as Neelix immediately turned the heat down on his pot before bustling up to the mysterious traveler that they all thought was still in a coma in Sick Bay. "Welcome, Mister Potter! My name is Neelix and I'm the cook around here. Are you hungry? You did come here for the food, right?"

Harry turned his intense green eyes to the alien. His face was blank for a bit before he smiled. Or what could be mistaken for one as it didn't reach his eyes, "Yes. Food would be nice. I haven't eaten food in so long. I guess I will have to get used to eating and sleeping again."

"Well, you may give it up again if you have to eat this swill," Paris muttered under his breath.

Harry, however, heard the lieutenant as he slowly walked over to stand over the table. Torres, Paris, Kim and Ensign Vorik all tensed. "You do not like this food?" Harry asked.

Tom threw up his hands, "Hey I don't mean to complain. We've been through a lot and it's frankly amazing we're not all dead or drones given what has happened in the last week or two."

Harry nodded, "The Collective does seem to squeeze all life out of life. They assimilate and yet ignore all the things which make life interesting. So afraid of death that they refuse to live. Like Voldemort. He wanted to be immortal and for what? He didn't live; he merely existed."

Before any of the crew could speak, Harry thrust out his right hand and a long stick seemed to grow out of his hand. Harry twirled this stick for a bit, as if to see if he still could. Then, with a flourish, Harry made a sweeping gesture over the table's various plates. To everyone in the room's amazement, the bland food, smelling slightly of dead fish, transformed into a meal fit for the best restaurant from Paris on Earth.

"Paris. You should like, French food, yes?" Harry asked. He had merely flicked his hand and the stick had been reabsorbed into his hand.

Tom blinked in amazement, "Yes. I mean, sure!" Tom hesitantly took a bite of the food in front of him. His eyes immediately lit up. Talking through the food he was eagerly chewing, Tom mumbled, "This is incredible!"

Torres tried the food as well and had a similar reaction as did Kim. Only Ensign Vorik looked on dispassionately. "Harry Potter; are you a Q?"

Harry looked at the Vulcan. "I do not understand."

Vorik gestured to the food in front of him, "You altered the matter in this food from one form to another. Such things have been seen on this ship before with a Q. Although he created food, not altered it."

Harry shook his head, "I am not a Q. I cannot violate Gamp's law and create food."

Tom swallowed his food, 'Then what are you? Whatever you are, it's a great trick!"

Harry paused before suddenly smiling; the first honest look of emotion he'd shown since entering, "As the Keeper of the Keys of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry told me on my 11th birthday back in 1991, 'Yer a wizard 'arry!'"

An awestruck silence fell upon the room.

Harry's smile faded to a sad look, "Sadly, I'm the last and only wizard left. Free of the Borg after all these years and yet I am, and always will be One of One."

XxXxX

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I apologize for the long notes but in going over all the chapters, I realized that stuff I talked about in later author's notes really needed to be referenced way earlier. So many of these first chapters will have VERY long notes.

Uniform Colors: Because I'm OCD about certain things and did 17 years in the military as well as generally being a military history buff since the early 70's, I'm making a few changes to the uniform…not that really matters given there are no illustrations to go along with it. Here is the breakdown and the color.

The following is predicated on that while officers get certain mandatory training, each officer has a different training track. So, while being on the science track doesn't mean you'll always be posted to science duties or vessels, it's definitely more likely.

Command Staff: (Maroon) This is an inconsistent color, especially in Voyager. Why is JLT Paris wearing command colors instead of ops? Certainly, Tuvok is security and tactical, but he'd seem to be the next in line for command after Janeway and Chakotay. For now, command staff maroon is only used by the Captain, XO and section chiefs. Now while it's not canon, I figure that commanders either have some form of piping along their wrists (a technique used in the ST:TOS for rank) or the adopted a method the Army uses: branch insignia. So perhaps next to their rank, there is a small branch insignia which tells people that Janeway's branch is Physical Sciences and Chakotay is Operations. Of course, the piping mentioned earlier could be the colors of their various branches. However, I would think having a physical badge would be more important as not only are their color-blind humans, not all sentients see color the same way.

Operations: (Gold) Operations is broken into three sections, ops, tactical, and personnel. Ops is the generic slot for those who do things like drive the ship, communications and other non-engineering functions. Tactical has three components, they act as head of security (more on that below) work ship weapons and act as the intelligence section. Personnel takes care of all crew actions such as pay and all the paperwork that comes with any organization.

Science: (Dark Blue & Light Blue) This is roughly broken into two categories which obviously have a lot of sub-sections. These are Physical Sciences and Life Sciences. Physical sciences wear the dark blue seen in Voyager while Life-Science wears the light blue the ST:TOS Dr. McCoy wore.

Engineering: (Red) This is broken into engineering, logistics and ship-systems. There is a bit of overlap between logistics and ops. The difference being ops manages it while logistics maintains it.

Medical: (White) Never understood how Star Trek always went for science blue over the traditional white associated with the medical field for centuries. The Doctor, however, might wear the light blue of life-science to help alert people that 'he' isn't a 'real' doctor. I don't agree with that but I could see it given some of the 'racism' shown towards androids and the like in the show.

Counselor: (Green) This would be a forest green color. This uniform is worn by ship counselors, chaplains and MWR (Morale, Welfare, Recreation) officers. The last is used more on larger ships and is usually done as part of the personnel operations section on smaller ships. While a medical field, psychologists and other mental health professionals wear green as a way to keep from stigmatizing mental issues as a medical issue. Neelix would wear this uniform when wearing a Starfleet uniform as would Troi instead of her "bunny counselor" bodysuit.

Special Duties: There are always certain jobs that don't require a crew member to be doing them full time. I see it that throughout a ship, there would be a requirement for a certain number of crew to have this additional training. Right now, I see this as being denoted with symbols on their comm-badge (as some iterations have the rank there) or by colored cuffs like the old Star Fleet ranks used to be. These special duties would be security, medic, emergency, and training.

So instead of a bunch of security types all wearing ops like we usually see, security would come from all sections. When a security team is formed, the sections (at that time) best able to give up personnel would 'fund' the team. I'm betting Tuvok has a program (abetted by the operations personnel team) that helps tell him who to call.

Likewise, you'd have "combat medics" spread throughout the ship. I realized they had to fan-wank a need for the EMH but I cannot accept that any organization that had its root in the military would not mandate special medical emergency training for more people. It's just common sense. Even with transporters, keeping all your medical personnel in one part of the ships means if you lose sick-bay, you lose all your medical personnel.

Emergency personnel are designated as 'first-responders' but not in the medical sense. These personnel are more like "emergency engineers" that can be directed to problems without pulling essential personnel off tasks. So, if there was a hull breach, emergency teams would do all the functions (like help with evacuation, saving important items, etcetera) leaving the engineers free to work the problem) This would help explain (other than keeping costs down) why an ops guy like Harry is always running around helping with engineering.

Training specialists are ones who have taken specialized courses to be certified as trainers. Obviously, Tuvok would be one of these.