Next Day
Janeway flies a Na’Far pod towards Voyager; when she is hit by a vast anomaly. Her dream gets hazy afterwards; but she sees herself younger in-between visions. Quark’s pod malfunctions; descending fast as she operates its conical console. The Doctor whistles Spring, from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. The dense atmosphere clears; and an island with ample pasture comes into sight. She glides to a crash-landing. Tremors wake her up; coughing in a foggy cockpit. She can’t see clearly; but outside, three big humanoids drag her pod to a stop over a rocky surface. She’s shaky; but manages to pull a lever down to open the hatch and see a murky view. She can’t tell what they say; except for a boy’s voice: “She’ll read the skies for us”. The Doctors stops whistling.
Janeway comes around muttering: “I have a son. I have a son”. She feels weird; like moving around in a string of snapshots. Her heartbeat pounds quickly. She orders the replicator to make hot black coffee. “Probably not a good idea”, she thinks. The Doctor goes through crew’s medical files in sickbay, humming “La Donna e Mobile”. Janeway gets out of the shower sprightly; wrapped up in a towel and feeling fabulous. She picks her mug up and halts before her mirror; amused in a knocked for six kind of way.
Janeway: Computer! Turn on the lights!
Computer: Lights on!
Janeway: This mission can’t be fitting me this well. How’s this possible?
In Senior Officers Conference Room a little while later…
Doctor: How’s this possible? AOR Bath infused microprobes in your bloodstream to augment immunology and repair cellular decay to certain extent.
Chakotay: Should we expect further changes?
Doctor: Augments protect you against biohazards. Getting somewhat younger is just a byproduct. I hope it doesn’t go too far; or I’ll be babysitting you all in the Delta Quadrant with two high-strung bio-electrical kids and that creepy Borg Queen chilling around.
Janeway: Harry! Have you made any progress with Cargo Bay 1?
Harry Kim: Bypass-circuitry and phaser bradawls failed; but we found out with Doctor’s assistance that nanoprobes are also behind this problem.
Tom Paris: Incredible! These Borg micro-robots are thriving all over Voyager.
Doctor: These nanoprobes are not entirely Borg.
Senior staff don’t know how to react to Doctor’s report.
B’Elanna: Wait a second... You’re going to fast Doctor.
Tom Paris: Yeah; slow down.. What do you...
Chakotay: How do you know? Where did they come from?
Doctor: They are smaller than virus; more advanced and able to integrate Borg ones.
Janeway’s intuition goes to work.
Janeway: Computer! What’s the source of non-Borg nanoprobes?
Computer: Source Unknown! Species Unknown!
Janeway: Computer! Please approximate...
Computer: Approximating! Planet of 37s... Species Unknown!
Tuvok: Computer may be pointing towards Briori.
Janeway: Hah! Those mysterious aliens who abducted the 37s from Earth.
Tom recalls the open to doubts story.
Tom Paris: Yeah, right! Briori enslaved 37s bad or something; but were defeated later on by 37’s offspring in a fuzzy rebellion... and nobody knows of Briori whereabouts.
Tuvok: I agree with Mr. Paris. Except for some basic infrastructure and technology, no other evidence of Briori or of 37’s rebellion were ever found.
Harry Kim: Vice-Admiral... We freed a group of 37s by deactivating their stasis pods and a cryogenic agent spread out all around us,... remember?
Janeway: You’re right Harry! That gas could have been micro-robotic in nature and we brought colonies of nanoprobes with us into Voyager.
Tom had to ask the question in everyone’s mind.
Tom Paris: What about the Borg Queen? She is...
Chakotay: We’ve been getting minor incident reports about her.
Janeway: From all over the ship! She’s driving me nuts.
Miral: Wasn’t she supposed to stay unglued?
Tom Paris: Exactly... Well; she may know something we don’t.
B’Elanna: Good luck with her! She’s a roaming enigma. Can you believe she asked me if I wished to be assimilated into her Collective?
Seven: She claims to allow her drones to keep their thoughts and memories.
Tuvok: That’s very unconventional for Borg standards.
Seven: She’s also sexually uninhibited and has a soft spot for ice.
Tom expresses a little sympathy for the Queen.
Tom Paris: She might just want to explore feelings and experiment with her body.
Tuvok: I’d be deeply concerned for anyone being the object of her exploration.
Janeway knows the Doctor must have by now more information on the distinguished guest.
Janeway: Doctor... What have you found about her?
Doctor: Thamas screened her samples; with disturbing results. Her DNA is humanoid... from an unidentified Species. Her Physiology is one for the books. She is biologically enhanced by multiple micro-organisms living and interacting inside her body.
B’Elanna: Then; how was she assimilated by Borg?
Doctor: She wasn’t. It was actually all the way around. Her dense microbiology took over and integrated Borg nanoprobes injected in her.
Chakotay: That’d make her a defective drone. Borg Hive Mind would have ordered her disposal or termination.
Tuvok: And it probably did so; but this Queen obviously interjected Hive’s orders.
Harry KIm: She had other plans.
Janeway: To breach in and build her own Collective.
Tuvok: She probably kept herself captive on purpose.
Chakotay: Waiting for an opportunity…
Janeway: She most likely made her move when the Borg systems dwindled... after 8472’s attack.
They all agree with Janeway’s inference; but B’Elanna wants to know more.
B’Elanna: How she does it? She got herself a Cube, a crew and made drones in DS9.
Doctor: She surrogates others by seizing their brain functions with a potent combo of integrated nanoprobes and symbiotic fungal-parasites.
Harry Kim: Why is she pretending to be a Borg Queen? I don’t get it.
Doctor: She’s not pretending. She’s amnesiac; maybe as a result of a trauma to her brain during her initial encounter with Borg.
Tuvok: We must assume Queen planned to take over Borg and 8472s. She could manage a Borg cube; but couldn’t handle 8472s without our assistance.
Chakotay: That’s really why she left the battlefield.
B’Elanna: She’ll attempt to assimilate them through a bionic pandemic.
Janeway: But first; she needs to weaken 8472s. With our help; she could integrate Borg and Fluidians. She’d be extremely powerful.
Doctor: She might be able to integrate weaken 8472s with her aggressive microbiology, but Borg nanoprobes will never be fully effective on Fluidians.
Tom Paris: How’s she going to achieve all that? She lost her Cube and her Collective only has five drones.
Janeway: Can she assimilate us; Doctor? Can she infect us?
Doctor: Good questions! She can’t assimilate you. As I mentioned before, you all have augmented immunology. However; the infection would still require medical attention.
Janeway: She can’t be the kind of Briori we are looking for.
Doctor: I don’t know who the Briori are; but I can tell you this much. Her Biology doesn’t match the strange microprobes fooling around Voyager.
Tuvok realizes how powerful Briori must be.
Tuvok: Then; Briori or whoever is our unknown source of technology anticipated our encounter with this Queen and knows her kind very well.
Tom Paris: To pull it off; they would have to travel at unthinkable speeds and pinpoint our location and hers with absolute precision in an eye’s twinkle.
Janeway: Is that so hard to believe? Briori abducted 37s from Earth and took them in a wink to a planet in the Delta Quadrant.
B’Elanna: And the Caretaker pulled Voyager 75 years away in a split second.
They all consent with B’Elanna.
Seven: They might have developed ultra long range sensors capable of surveying and mapping space-time with tachyon pulses.
Chakotay: Could they foresee events caused by distressful decisions?
Harry Kim: An act of vengeance, for instance…
They all deliberately evade thinking about Nero, the vengeful Romulan, and the Narada’s temporal rampage.
Seven: They may not be able to foretell intentions; but they could anticipate outcomes.
B’Elanna: Or maybe... who knows, they’re doomed by transwarping so much.
Seven disagrees…
Seven: I think they are concerned with restitution of space-time continuum.
Tuvok: But... not with Vulcan’s fate, for instance.
Seven: That might be too specific for their self-centered interests.
Janeway remembers Maestro saying Orbs roll in space-time like a game of dice.
Janeway: They’re tracking outcomes caused by an anomaly in space-time continuum.
Doctor: Good luck with that! And who set off the glitch if I may ask.
Janeway: Nero did…with the Narada Drill. He altered the whole Galaxy.
They all stay quiet for a moment. B’Elanna breaks the pause.
B’Elanna: Okay! I don’t get this. Their technology is breathtaking; right? Why don’t they go out there, put their own behinds on the line and take care of business?
Tuvok remember Kes’ words.
Tuvok: Perhaps; they can’t reach out and want us to achieve what –at this instant- they are unable to attain by themselves.
B’Elanna: What the f@#! Where did you get all that crap?
Chakotay: Torres...
B’Elanna: Why us? My daughter...I can’t take any more of this. I’m out of here.
B’Elanna leaves the conference room in a state of distress.
Tom Paris: B’Elanna...
Janeway: Let her go; Tom.
Miral: Yes dad; let her vent a little.
Harry Kim: What shall we do about our guest Queen?
Tuvok: She can’t hurt anyone as long as we keep her onboard.
Janeway: We still have a mission to accomplish.
Chakotay: To save 37’s!
Harry Kim: What do we do next?
Janeway: Open Cargo Bay 1; we might get some answers in there.
Assault on Cargo Bay 1
Bridge…
Harry and Tuvok match up efforts to take control of Cargo Bay 1. Operations staff seeks to override its locked gates. Tuvok’s Hazard Team brings some cover.
Collins: Captain Kim! We hear sounds of heavy equipment; footsteps, slamming doors and felt... a swirling cold air coming from inside.
Harry Kim: Collins! Sensors show nothing. You all hang in there and focus on your job.
Tuvok: Gutierrez; what do you see?
Gutierrez: I’m not sure; Commander. Our eyes itch. We see… crazy projections.
Tuvok: Projections?
Gutierrez: Yeah! You know... like old black-and-white films or something, showing these hideous creatures.
Harry Kim: Tuvok; I’m reading high levels of infrasound and electrical bustle.
Doctor assists from Sickbay.
Doctor: Ultra-waves irritate eyeballs and jumble temporoparietal junctions, disabling peoples’ brains from the idea of self and recreating unreal images.
Harry doesn’t quite believe Doctor’s words. Tuvok remains thoughtful.
Collins: Captain Kim! We feel worn out and with headaches.
Gutierrez: Collins! Shut up! We’ll back you up. You have work to do.
Collins: Yeah right! You only see ugly aliens. You idiot!
Gutierrez: Damn it; Collins! You smart-ass... I’ll flare your butt with my phaser.
Tuvok: Gutierrez! Hold your position. A hostile may come out of there any minute.
Gutierrez: Captain! We see now a projection of... a herd of spotted horses with dark triangular mane.
Collins: Back up? My silly butt! You’re all screwed up Gutierrez.
Harry Kim: Readings for Positive Ions are way above normal.
Doctor: That would explain nonsense, headaches and the lousy moods.
B’Elanna intervenes from Engineering.
B’Elanna: Bioelectrical kids seem unaffected.
Janeway: B’Elanna... are your all right? How are you feeling?
B’Elanna: Why is everyone asking me that? Are you all right Vice-Admiral?
Chakotay looks at Janeway in sign of ... “What should we do about her?” Tom turns to Janeway too and indicates her to cut-it-off. Janeway understands.
Janeway: Okay... Bhytor! Thamas! Get in Cargo Bay 1 and report findings.
Bhytor and Thamas levitate luminously towards Cargo Bay 1 and squeeze in through the gates; but only to come out right after with their eyes wide open. They leave rapidly as everyone conjecture about what happened. The gates open; displaying a thick gleaming screen from which a big fuzzy BE entity comes out. He’s visibly enraged.
Type-F: Qarawi-Mayke; tiqanga takeli yoqi - tiqanga kuara paihoa!
(Too much/enough) (you’re difficult) (you must wait)
He sets off a potent electroshock charge against operations staff and tactical officers. They all fall down with violent involuntary muscle contractions. Thamas talks and sips from his bottle.
Thamas: Scary! Cousin is mad.
Bhytor: You infuriated him by making your jelly-fish faces. He doesn’t like those. He’s from the mountains; you silly.
Thamas: I was kidding.
Type-F budges his head and assesses casualties. They’re all knocked-out; but no one is seriously hurt. He focuses attention on Bhytor and Thamas.
Type-F: Quamariki; iqawiru piaki-papu ghatuqura - yatagere roreqa puoru.
(Children!) (I guard sphere of knowledge) (You listen to my music)
Everyone can hear a background acoustic music with percussion and chants; as the big warrior makes his way back to Cargo Bay 1 dancing in short steps.
Janeway: Kids! Do you know who he is?
Bhytor: He’s Type-F; our cousin. He’s triggered by trespassing. He’s not lethal. His communication skills are limited though.
Thamas: He’s cousin... speaking weird for you.
Janeway: What did he say? We couldn’t pick up a word with our UTs.
Bhytor: He guards cargo bay. He says to wait and give up doggedness.
Tuvok: Children! You seem to have first hand experience with Type-F. Please, advise on a course of action.
Bhytor smirks at Thamas…
Bhytor: I advise to wait! Hehehe...
Thamas smiles too…
Thamas: Wait; wait, wait…
Tuvok feels children are trying his patience. Staff don’t know what else to say; as they watch Bhytor and Thamas on screen sitting in the floor with their arms crossed. The odd situation disturbs everyone with an obvious question: Wait for what?