CHAPTER
SIX:
A Borg Heart
Captain's Log, Stardate 56950.6
Seven of Nine has told me about the drones on board the Cube that came through the conduit. It seems that Axum and his friends are now individuals thanks to Admiral Janeway and the crew of Voyager. I've concented to let them come aboard Lexus for a little chat about the Borg. I'm keeping a close watch however. My trust of the Borg in any capacity is limited. With the war between the Kazon and the Ocampa raging still I need no more to worry about.
Captain Sparks and Commander Porter are still in the brig and I'm still not sure that was the right thing to do. Until I find out exactly what they know about this ship and its crew they'll stay where they are.
"Do you think it was wise to invite fourteen drones to this ship?" Commander Munro asked JR in his ready room after the drones had been shown to the Borg deck.
"Alex, Axum is at least an individual," he replied. "If the others aren't then at least they defer to him. Seven and Icheb can handle them I assure you."
"I just don't want to find myself assimilated, Captain," Munro said seriously.
"I think we'd both better get to the Borg deck," JR said, walking around his first officer to the door of his ready room.
They walked across the bridge to the turbo lift in silence. JR hoped he was doing the right thing. He was jumpy about the Borg on his ship after battling them so recently. He kept wondering about the Cube in front of the ship and what the Ocampa and Kazon thought about the fact that Lexus was fraternizing with the Borg.
"Deck thirteen," he said once the doors to the turbo lift closed.
Moments later the doors opened again and they stepped out of the turbo lift onto the green lit deck. The temperature in deck thirteen was higher than any other deck and the air tasted strange to them. This was the first time since Q had made the ship real that JR had come to deck thirteen. On the holodeck there was no change in temperature and the air tasted no different. He supposed that the reality had to be different from the simulation.
"Captain," said Seven when they arrived in the regeneration room.
"Hello, Seven," he said. "I came to check on everyone and see how things are going."
"We're talking," she said, and JR noticed that she was standing just a bit close to the drone known as Axum. "Axum tells me that the Borg are trying to re-assimilate the drones on his Cube."
"Re-assimilate?" JR asked. "But they are Borg."
"We are individuals," corrected Axum. "I have been searching for Annika all over the galaxy."
It was strange for JR to hear anyone call Seven of Nine by her human name. To hear this drone call her Annika and say it with emotion was even more strange. It bordered on unsettling. He wished that he could consult the computer for any information on the drone known as Axum.
"Forgive me," he replied. "I didn't mean to offend you."
"You didn't offend me, Captain Kirk," said Axum. "I only wanted you to really understand that we are Borg, but we are also individuals."
"He has asked that the Doctor try to remove his Borg implants," stated Seven, but she was looking at Axum. JR thought the look on her face was affectionate. It was odd to see that look on Seven's face. It was strange to see her show any emotion.
"Have you consulted The Doctor?" he asked. He knew that the EMH on Voyager had helped to sever Seven from the collective and restore her humanity, but he didn't know what was involved.
"We have," she replied. "He is researching the database for possible problems."
"Has he examined you?" JR asked Axum.
"We were about to go to sickbay," replied Axum.
Once the group had gotten to sickbay, The Doctor surprised JR by taking Axum straight to surgery. The doctor wanted everyone out of sickbay except Seven and Icheb while he performed the surgery. JR led the drones back to deck thirteen before he and Munro headed back to the bridge.
"How much do you know about how Seven was liberated?" Munro asked as they headed for the bridge.
"Very little," he replied. "I suspect that the Janeway program can tell me about it though."
"You plan to activate the program once we get to the bridge?" Munro asked.
"I'm not sure," JR said slowly. "I think I trust our EMH and both Seven and Icheb enough to let them work without me checking up on them. I must admit, though, the desire to know how it happened is tempting."
"Tell me why you and Lieutenant Dodds are so close," Munro said as they left the turbo lift.
"What do you mean?" JR asked, trying to seem uninterested in the conversation.
"The way the two of you go off together at times," Munro said. "It's almost as if he is your first officer."
"Chad Dodds and I are friends, Alex," replied JR. "We were friends before either of us set foot on this ship."
"How is it that you became a Captain in Starfleet at such a young age?" Munro asked, making JR wince. The question had finally been asked but not by anyone that JR had expected to ask it.
"That's a long conversation," he replied after a moment of silence. "I'll tell you about it one day, but right now there are fourteen more Borg drones on my ship than there should be, there is a battle being waged around us and I'm a little on edge. A trip down memory lane would not be a good idea at this time."
"Understood," Munro said. "I wasn't trying to imply that you aren't a good Captain."
"I didn't think you were," JR said, smiling at his first officer. "Alex, there may be certain things that I don't discuss with you, and I know that's wrong of me. I want you to know that I value you more than you'll ever realize."
"Thank you, Captain," said Munro.
"If we're going to be friends, Alex," he said, "why don't you call me JR?"
"JR it is then," said Munro. "Only when we are away from the crew."
"Naturally," laughed JR as they took their seats.
* * *
"This is the drone you had the relationship with, isn't it?" Icheb asked Seven as they worked to remove implants from Axum. The Doctor's eyes widened, but he didn't comment.
"Icheb, it is very rude for you to ask me such a question," replied Seven. "My relationship with Axum is also none of your business."
"Forgive me, Seven," he said. "I was merely curious."
"That should do it," said The Doctor. "I'll just stimulate cellular regeneration as well as his hair follicles."
"Thank you for this, Doctor," said Seven.
"No thanks needed, Seven," said The Doctor. "A chance to help one drone come back from the Borg is all the thanks I need."
"Understood," she replied. "He will be happy when this is finished."
"I'm sure he will," said The Doctor.
"Have any of the other drones expressed an interest in this procedure?" Icheb asked.
"I'm sure they'll all want to become more like their natural selves after they see the change in Axum," said Seven.
Icheb noticed that there were no implants showing on Axum's face and wondered how that was possible. Both he and Seven had implants on their faces. He'd asked The Doctor many times to try to remove his facial implant, but the answer had always been that it would be too risky. He wondered why it wasn't so risky to removed Axum's facial implants.
"He'll need to regenerate," said The Doctor. "I've done all I can for him now."
When they had him in the regeneration chamber, the other drones came to look at what had been done. They didn't say anything as they looked at him, but Seven was pleased as she watched the accelerated cellular regeneration and hair growth aided by the regeneration chamber. Axum was beginning to look more like himself; the man she'd fallen in love with at Unimatrix Zero.
* * *
"Captain, the Ocampa ship is hailing us," said Telsia.
"On screen," replied JR.
"Captain Kirk," said the blond man when he appeared on screen. "Why are you not trying to destroy the Borg?"
"With whom am I speaking?" JR asked.
"I am Turin," replied the blond man.
"Turin, that Cube is not what it appears to be," said JR. "It is a Borg vessel, but the drones that were aboard are not part of the collective. We're working to change them back to individuals."
"How is this possible?" asked Turin.
"I assure you our doctor is working right now to help bring one of the drones as close to his original form as possible," said JR. "I honestly can't tell you how it is done."
"Captain, the Ocampa are unsettled by the Cube's presence," said Turin. "I can't keep them from firing on it."
"Understood," said JR. "I'll inform our visitors."
The transmission ended there. JR didn't know exactly what to do about this information. He had been told that all of the drones were now regenerating on the Borg deck and he couldn't interrupt their cycle. He didn't even know if Ocampan weapons could penetrate the shields of the Cube.
"Kirk to Seven of Nine," he said.
"Go ahead, Captain," said Seven.
"Seven, the Ocampa have just told me that they will begin firing on the Cube if it isn't moved out of the system," he said.
"The drones are regenerating, Captain," she said.
"I know, but is there a way to move the Cube?" he asked.
"Unknown," she replied. "I can attempt to access the Cube's systems and raise its shields."
"Do it," he said quickly. "Apprise me of the result."
"Aye, Captain," she said.
Captain's Log, supplemental:
The Doctor has removed almost all of Axum's Borg implants. Several of the drones have expressed the desire to undergo the same surgery. Seven of Nine tells me that it will take several days to change all of the drones. I have given permission to begin, though the Ocampa have been firing at the Cube almost non stop. The Kazon have joined them in their efforts to destroy the Cube as well.
I am worried about the effect this will have on our relationship with the Ocampa. I do not want to be their enemy, but I can not move that Cube. I assume that once the surgeries are complete the drones will want to head for their home worlds.
"Thank you, Captain Kirk, for allowing me to come here," said Axum when Seven brought him to JR's ready room shortly after he'd been revived.
"You're very welcome, Axum," replied JR. "I'm glad that The Doctor was able to help you."
"Your doctor is very gifted," he said. "The last of the drones aboard our vessel is being changed today."
"That's good news," JR replied. "The Ocampa and Kazon have been firing at the Cube for the last six days. I'm worried that they'll find a way to destroy it."
"Captain, if its possible, we would all like to remain on Lexus," said Axum. "I do not wish to return to my home world, and all of the others are from worlds in the Alpha Quadrant. We do not wish to have anything to do with the Cube now that we no longer look like Borg."
"I think that's a great idea," JR said. "We could certainly put you all to work."
"That would be great, Captain," said Axum. "I'll inform the others."
"What of the Cube?" JR asked.
"We can program the Cube's computer to send it back to Borg space unmanned," said Seven.
"Do it," replied JR. "Dismissed."
Seven accessed the Cube computer from the Borg deck and sent it on its way. Several Kazon ships followed it but when the Cube jumped to transwarp they fell back. JR wasn't surprised when they began to fire on the Ocampa once again. It seemed that with the mutual threat gone the war was on again. JR was considering re-entering the war and helping the Ocampa once again. He wanted to leave the system, but he remembered the Admiral's warning about the Kazon gaining any more power in the Delta Quadrant.
He began to fire phasers at as many Kazon ships as he could. There were more of them now and they outnumbered the Ocampa ships. He decided to even the odds a bit. With two transphasic torpedoes he destroyed the lead Kazon ship and crippled another. The battle changed yet again with the new Ocampan advantage.
When the Kazon retreated once again he decided to have a chat with Turin of the Ocampa. He told him that Lexus would stay in the system for as long as it took to defeat the Kazon. Turin was pleased to hear it, but he worried that it could take years to defeat his enemy. JR assured him that he would do everything in his power to help.
Seven and Axum spent a great deal of time getting to know each other again. They were in cargo bay 2 having a picnic when a quantum singularity opened three meters in front of the ship and four vessels came through. The ship went to red alert and JR was still trying to figure out what was happening when Seven and Axum came to the bridge.
"Captain," said Seven. "We must destroy those ships."
"Seven . . ."
"Species 8472 will destroy us all," said Axum.
THE LEXUS CHRONICLES