Chapter One

“Diallosilicate you say?” asked Captain Janeway, as she closely scrutinized the readout on the Ensign’s terminal.

“I’m detecting it throughout the sector,” replied Harry Kim, the operations officer of the USS Voyager. “I haven’t ever seen this much of it concentrated in one area before.” He brushed a lock of black hair out of his face, then continued, “at least, not naturally.”

“We need to stop here,” B’Elanna Torres, the ship’s chief engineer bluntly interjected. Janeway was startled for a moment, but the feeling quickly passed. The former Maquis was often a little blunter than protocol dictated. It was something she had learned to live with. “We may never have another opportunity like this. Diallosilicate is a crucial part of the dilithium matrix. We would be fools to pass it up here.”

“Is there an immediate need for it, Lieutenant?” Janeway asked.

“No,” replied Torres, “but we don’t have any reserves. Voyager was designed as a short-range vessel, so it isn’t standard issue. And since there aren’t any Federation outposts anywhere near here, and if the need should come up-”

“I see you’re point. How much time do you need to collect it?” asked Janeway.

“That might be a problem,” replied Torres. The attractive half-Klingon moved over to Harry’s console, and entered a few commands. An astrometric chart of the region appeared on the screen. “Even here, diallosilicate is sparsely distributed throughout these nebulae at a concentration of one part per one hundred trillion. It could take weeks to collect enough of it to be of any use.”

“I’d be willing to spend the time, if it came down to it,” Janeway said. “but we need to find a faster way. Let’s take this down to Cargo Bay Two, and see if we can come up with any way to make the process go any faster.”

Time was very important to the crew of Voyager. Four years before, the crews of both Voyager and a small Maquis ship were pulled seventy thousand light years across the galaxy by a being merely looking to find a way to procreate. He died before he could send them home.

The Maquis ship was destroyed, and the two crews decided to put aside their differences and work together to find a way home. Without help, that journey would take over seventy years. Resources were rare, and opportunities like this forced the ship to stop its journey in order to ensure that it would be able to make the long trip.

B’Elanna and Captain Janeway stepped into Cargo Bay Two as soon as the doors opened to admit them. The room itself displayed an odd juxtaposition of Federation and Borg technology. Scattered along one side of the room were various storage units. Along the other side was a row of Borg regeneration alcoves, one of which was occupied by a woman who looked almost human.

Seven of Nine, though born human, spent most of her life an assimilated drone of the Borg collective. She was rescued (or captured, depending on how you looked at it) by the crew of Voyager, and separated from the Collective when she was stranded aboard the ship. With most of her Borg implants removed, she began the process of developing her own individuality and learning to cope with her new social environment. The results so far were considerably mixed.

As a drone, Seven benefited from a complex, but efficiently structured lifestyle. Her every duty was outlined in full detail, and her every action was choreographed by the Borg Collective. Adjustment to an environment where individuality was prized but order was still essential was a difficult challenge, one she was often not willing to take.

Captain Janeway entered the appropriate codes into the console next to the regeneration terminal, and Seven of Nine awoke almost immediately.

“Captain,” she greeted.

“Seven, we have found an area of space with a high concentration of diallosilicate. I would like for you to assist B’Elanna in developing a way to speed up the collection process.”

“Of course,” Seven of Nine replied. She stepped forward and began rapidly entering figures into the console in front of the regeneration alcoves. A look of absent-minded determination crossed her face, and she acted almost as if noting in the room existed but the data she was entering into the computer. Finally, when she came up with a solution, she reported her conclusion to the waiting officers.

“Section 327-Beta, charted by a Borg scout several years ago.” Seven continued entering figures into the computer, then abruptly stopped.

“By modifying the Plowright Collectors on a shuttlecraft, I can increase the harvesting speed by three hundred ninety-seven percent. I will begin the appropriate modifications immediately.”

“A shuttle?” Janeway asked. “Wouldn’t it be better to modify the collectors on Voyager? Surely-”

“To make any modifications to the Plowrights on Voyager would take weeks,” Torres interrupted, after looking over the charts on Seven’s console. “Seven’s idea is much more efficient. A shuttlecraft could be modified in less than a day. We could even modify a second, and blow through the collection process in a couple of days.”

“Do it,” said Janeway, curtly. “I’d like to get this done as quickly as possible, so we can be on our way.”

“I will have to take one of the shuttles,” Torres said. “I’m going to make certain that the modifications are integrated properly into the shuttle’s systems. If something goes wrong-”

“Agreed,” Janeway replied. “You and Commander Tuvok will pilot the Sappho, and Seven of Nine and Ensign Kim will take the Hesiod. Have Harry draw up the flight plan for the two shuttles. Have a mission outline on my desk tomorrow morning.”

“Aye, Captain,” Torres replied.

Janeway turned to leave, and B’Elanna stayed to finish reading over the considerable amount of information that Seven had entered into the computer during the short time that they were standing there. Satisfied that the modifications could be done with relative ease, she arranged to meet Seven in the shuttlebay later that night.

—-

Oro remembered his bonding day as if it were yesterday. The same happy faces, the celebration, the bottomless cups of boloch, great food, dancing, singing-

Yes Oro dear, the voice inside his head said, and you so nervous you spilled more boloch on your cloths than you actually drank!

Oro smiled, long accustomed to the voice of his beloved Kon as a thought in his mind. Even though she was standing right beside him, it was so much easier (and private!) for them to share their thoughts. This was the way when you were bound.

Beloved, only you remember such things! he replied. Oro laughed inwardly with his beloved at his own expense. He WAS nervous that day, but who wouldn’t be? It is rare to find a person completely calm on their bonding day. He was suddenly overwhelmed with a powerful feeling of warmth that he knew to be his bondmate’s love for him.

This is what our son will have after today, Oro thought. Kon smiled, and returned her attention to the crowd that surrounded them.

“Kon’Oro!” a low voice parted the crowd. “Oro my boy!” A stout man emerged and firmly embraced his son, and nodded politely to Kon.

“Oro!” his father laughed, “Do you think your boy will be able to keep his wine off of his jacket, or will he-”

“Father!” Oro interrupted, mockingly offended.

Only me, beloved? the voice in his head giggled.

Parents are always the exception.

The elderly man laughed. “Someone has to remind you of how silly you looked! Ruining that expensive suit, all because of a case of the jitters!”

Oro looked towards his bondmate, “I believe that position is filled, father.” Kon, who had moved to another part of the hall, smiled to herself.

“Besides,” Oro continued, “I’ve seen vids of your bonding, Father. What was that dark stain on your shirt?”

“Nothing at all!” Oro’s father laughed. “Must have been a shadow!”

“Where is mother?” asked Oro, after the laughing had stopped.

“Oh, she’s over there, somewhere,” motioned his father, encompassing most of the chamber with his gesture. “You know how she is at parties, can’t shut her up at all! Gibber gibber jabber!” His father winced slightly. Oro could only imagine the pounding his father was getting for a comment like that.

“Excuse me son,” his father said with a forced smile. Oro nodded as his father left, undoubtedly to find his mother, to make amends. It surprised him that after fifty seasons of unity, his father still made comments like that. Some habits just never change, he supposed.

Oro scanned the crowd for his own son. Was our bonding so crowded? Oro wondered.

I wasn’t paying much attention to the guests, Beloved, Kon automatically replied.

Oro found his son sitting alone, off to the side of the party. Occasionally a guest would pause and congratulate the young man on the coming ceremony, and he would always smile politely. As his father approached, the younger Oro looked up with an overwhelmed look on his face.

“Father,” Oro nodded.

It was customary on Bint’Ari was that the firstborn child be named after the parent of the same sex. And, as Oro was born first, about a minute and a half before his twin sister, he was named for his father. In some societies this might be confusing to have two members in every household with the same given name, but the joining of names after bonding was a neat solution to the problem. While the father was Kon’Oro, since the day of his bonding, his son was known as simply Oro.

Kon’Oro grasped his son by the shoulders, then took a chair beside him. Oro continued to stare forward, wide eyed.

“How long does this last Father?” he asked.

Kon’Oro remembered exactly what his son was going through. All Bint’Ari had the same experiences on their bonding day.

“Well,” he began after a moment of thought, “the effect of the Ari’cada is focused during the Bint’aja ritual. Within a few hours of the ritual, all of the telepathic awareness you are now experiencing will fade away. You will form a more permanent link with Jaskin then, a link much more powerful than anything you are feeling now.”

Oro continued to look around the room, wide-eyed as ever. “There is so much joy here. I had no idea how important this was! I mean, I knew it was important, but,” Oro stammered for the proper words.

Kon’Oro finished the thought. “There is much about the bonding that is kept from children. One cannot truly express what it is to be bound in words alone. Do not worry so much about it! Soon it will be all over and you will see for yourself how wonderful it is.”

Oro looked out over the crowd. “All of these people, I can see each of them, reliving their bonding. There is so much emotion, so many thoughts- it is very overwhelming.”

“That is the purpose of this gathering son,” Kon’Oro explained. “Aside from the celebration involved when a couple becomes bound, the presence of so many people is to help train your mind for the link with your future other. What you are experiencing now is a broad awareness of everyone who is near you. When you are bonded with Jaskin, her thoughts will always be present in your mind. What you are going through right now is noting in comparison to what that experience will be like. Right now, your mind is gaining an awareness of itself among others, so that when the link is made between you and Jaskin, your own identity will not be submerged by hers in the joining.”

“That’s horrifying!” Oro lowered his eyes. “what if my mind hasn’t-

“You needn’t worry about that, ” Kon’Oro interrupted. “It only takes a short time for your mind to find its sense of self. You must use this time to see how much everyone here is happy for both of you, and how they wish you the best, not to worry about impossible things.”

“There is a lot of emotion here, Father.” Oro stroked his short beard, and his face lit up. “I feel so much joy and pride. Especially in you and Mother.”

“Well, it is not everyday your first son becomes bound. And a citizen too, I might add.”

“Oh,” Oro slouched again. “There is so much to this, isn’t there? And what about Rogus? My twin, she seems happy for me, but inside, she is almost angry. Why?”

Kon’Oro chuckled. “She is just jealous. Her intended can’t be bound for another two seasons. Too young! You’re lucky you found someone your own age.”

Oro finally smiled, confidently, as he stood up. “Come Father, my glass is empty!”

The two men rose to retrieve more wine, pausing often to accept the congratulations and the well wishes of the guests. By the time the two made it across the chamber, Oro’s high spirits had returned.

“Now be careful you don’t spill any of that,” Kon’Oro cautioned, as his son lifted a full glass of wine to his lips. He tried his best to ignore the soft giggle that invaded his mind.

—

The massive ship methodically carved its way through space. Naturally, the ship itself was silent in the void, but inside, none of the thousands of passengers spoke a single word. The occasional rhythmic clanging of a worker’s footfalls was the only sound that pierced the unsettling silence, and that made the cavernous ship all the more frightening.

Not that the rodent noticed the eerie surroundings. As a stowaway on a ship that was recently devoured by this monster, it had grown accustomed to its space-born surroundings. The rodent was more concerned with food and water, not the sound one of the workers made when it walked. The frightening thing for the rodent was that ever since it had come aboard this ship, it had not seen a drop of water or a crumb of food. It was becoming as worried as a rodent was capable of being. No food, anywhere on a giant ship like this. Didn’t these creatures eat?

The inhabitants of the vessel did notice the rodent. One of the workers saw the stowaway when it left the ship they had just taken, and probably could have caught it right there. However, almost immediately, a massive consciousness pronounced judgment on the beast. “It is irrelevant. Continue with the assimilation.” After all, why waste energy eliminating something that would die of thirst in a day or two anyway?

So the rodent continued on its pointless journey, looking for food, water, or the recreation of a loose wire to chew on. It wandered the seemingly endless corridors, ignoring the eerie uniform quality the surrounding halls possessed. Lined along both sides of the hall were identical slots, each about as wide as an average person. Centered towards the top of the slots were glowing green disks, illuminated by rotating electrical sparks that looked much like lightning. Most of the slots contained a still figure, locked in a dormant state for the duration of the transwarp journey. Lighting in all of the halls was at a minimum, there was no need to expend any energy lighting an area that was not in use.

As always, the rodent found nothing that it was looking for. It was definitely beginning to dislike this new place. Rather than expend energy looking for sustenance it could not find, the rodent curled up, and hoped that there might be some food when it woke up.

Of course, it never did wake up. And rather than having a decaying corpse on board, the massive consciousness decided that it would be prudent to transport the lifeless rodent into space. After all, there was no sense in supporting a breeding ground for potentially harmful bacteria.

As the massive cube dropped out of transwarp near a rather ordinary star, the rodent’s body suddenly found itself floating free in space. Without even a pause, the cube moved on past the star, towards the fourth planet in orbit. It was a particularly ordinary planet, with three large oceans and a pair of tiny moons, and several sources of raw materials that the collective consciousness felt would be useful. There would be the matter of the inferior organic life form inhabiting the planet. They would, of course, attempt to resist the Borg. But their wishes were irrelevant. The collective needs must be satisfied.

So the cube moved on towards the planet, and prepared to take what it needed.

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