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Seven of Nine.
How's my favourite Borg?
Annoyed.
In future, announce
your presence before entering.
- Sorry, I should knock.
- Are we ready?
Yes.
Spatial conditions are ripe.
A protonebula could emerge shortly.
Mr Paris is expecting us.
Not a bad looking hologram.
This should be exciting.
It's just an astronomical survey.
What is your function?
To study the nebula's effect on the crew.
This may be a new radiation.
I can't wait to see
one of these clouds.
I brought a holo-imager for snapshots.
There will be no time for recreation.
The Borg, party poopers of the galaxy.
Tomorrow we'll start you on
developing your joie de vivre.
Sorry.
Just a little spatial turbulence.
Nothing to worry about.
Hello there.
I don't know about you,
but I've got class-2 claustrophobia.
- I remember it well.
- Lieutenant?
That's what cadets
used to call these shuttles.
Fast, manoeuvrable,
but not built for comfort.
They would shoehorn cadets in
for weeks at a time.
You did not want to open that airlock.
You should design a new shuttle.
Larger, more efficient.
Not a bad idea.
I'm reading plasma surges.
All stop.
Keep our distance.
Move over.
I want to get a group shot.
- I'm busy.
- Then smile, like I know you can.
- What was that?
- A plasma surge.
It's massive.
Tom, back us off.
- We're in the gravimetric shear.
- Engines are down.
- The away team is in distress.
- They're engulfed in the shearline.
Full impulse.
Stand by for emergency beam out.
- Unless the shuttle clears that nebula
- It won't.
They lost propulsion.
- It will be a rough transport.
- Energise.
- I'm having trouble separating patterns.
- Reset the pattern buffers.
The signals are clearing.
Is everyone all right?
- My emitter.
It's been damaged.
- I'll transfer your program to sickbay.
Sickbay to transporter room 1, report.
- Some emitter circuits were fused.
- Can you repair it?
- Most likely.
I'll run a diagnostic.
- Most likely?
Relax, Doctor.
I'll keep you posted.
Mulchaey.
Computer,
run diagnostic routine alpha 36.
Diagnostic in progress.
- In the morning, check the results.
- I'll be here early.
Captain's log supplemental.
This protonebula has a mind of its own.
It's still expanding with no end in sight.
We're holding at a safe distance
to monitor its growth.
Rise and shine, Lieutenant.
What do you want?
I'll settle for my mobile emitter.
What's the ETA on those repairs?
Go away.
Can't you at least give me a prognosis?
The one day I get to sleep in
You're worried about a few seconds?
My freedom is at stake.
Computer, activate sonic shower.
One more thing.
I was thinking
I'm a doctor, not a peeping Tom.
Nothing I haven't seen before.
Bring the emitter to sickbay
and we can work on it together
Hello? B'Elanna?
Regeneration cycle incomplete.
Commander.
- How did you sleep?
- Well enough.
What's new?
That nebula's expanding
at 8,000 cubic kilometres per hour.
I've adjusted course 11 times.
- You're enjoying the big chair.
- It's not bad.
You've done a fine job.
The crew is impressed.
Is it true they call you "Captain Kim"?
- Good morning.
- Yet to be seen.
Problem?
My proximity transceiver
has been activated.
- That could indicate a Borg presence.
- Harry?
I've been running sensor sweeps.
I haven't seen anything.
- The nebula could mask a vessel.
- Not a chance.
Not even a Borg cube
would last seconds.
Your transceiver
could be malfunctioning.
- It is possible.
- Pay a visit to sickbay.
In the meantime we'll redouble
our scans, just to be sure.
Very well.
I'll get the scans underway.
If you don't mind being an ensign again.
Seven?
My proximity transceiver
activated again.
Someone is rerouting power
from the warp conduits.
- To where?
- Deck 8, section 22.
The science lab.
Bridge to science lab.
Ensign Mulchaey, respond.
Harry.
Sensors are being deflected
by a force field.
The force field has a Borg signature.
Red Alert.
Captain to the bridge.
Take a security team to the lab.
Seven of Nine, you were right.
We detected Borg in the science lab.
- How many drones?
- Unknown.
Tuvok's there.
- I will join him.
- The science lab?
My mobile emitter's in there.
This technology resembles
a Borg maturation chamber,
but many of the components
are unfamiliar.
Commander.
Punctured by an extraction tubule.
It removed a tissue sample.
There are residual nanoprobes
surrounding the wound.
Their encoding sequences
are identical to mine.
Your nanoprobes? How?
I don't know.
Take him to sickbay.
What are you doing?
I will be recognised as Borg.
A drone.
But unlike any I've ever seen.
It appears to be in the foetal stage.
I don't understand.
The Borg assimilate.
They do not reproduce in this fashion.
Where did it come from?
I believe it was created
in the science lab.
When the away team beamed back
the transporter malfunctioned.
The patterns merged briefly.
My nanoprobes might have infected
the Doctor's emitter.
They began to assimilate?
Nanoprobes utilise any technology
they encounter.
It assimilated the emitter
and began to transform this station.
They sampled Mulchaey's DNA.
Using his genetic code as a template
to create a life-form.
The drone has increased in mass
by 17%.
Its maturation rate is 25 times
that of a conventional Borg.
Tuvok, erect a level-10 force field
around this section.
Post round-the-clock security.
You intend to let it mature?
The alternative is to pull the plug.
I'm not prepared to do that.
Resume your analysis.
I want to know what we're dealing with.
- Or should I say, "whom"?
- Yes, Captain.
I've adapted the sensors
to penetrate the Borg force field.
- You said this thing was a foetus.
- An hour ago it was.
The drone has entered
the fourth phase of gestation.
- In human terms, a child of six years.
- 'A boy of six years.
The drone is male.
Route your sensor data to sickbay.
I want to run a few scans.
Stand by.
He appears to be human,
for the most part.
Borg implants comprise approximately
His body plate is composed
of polydeutonic alloy.
Just like my mobile emitter.
The nanoprobes must have extrapolated
that technology.
Wait a second.
The emitter came from the 29th century.
It's advanced by 500 years.
It is logical to assume this drone
will be equally advanced.
- A 29th century Borg.
- In essence.
I've located my mobile emitter.
It's embedded in his cerebral cortex.
It's been adapted to function as part
of his central nervous system.
- It controls autonomic functions.
- If we remove it, we kill the drone.
- Has it contacted the collective?
- No.
- I've dampened its transceiver.
- For now.
What about when it grows up?
Reactive body armour,
multidimensional adaptability.
- lnternal transporter nodes?
- It has superior technology.
It will fully mature in less than two hours.
We can still terminate it.
Hold on a minute, I want some answers.
What happens when a drone
disengages from the chamber?
- It awaits the collective's instructions.
- It has no designation without them.
- No purpose.
- Correct.
If we can keep him from the collective,
we can give him a purpose.
Captain.
This is the most advanced drone
ever to exist.
We could teach him our values,
what it means to be an individual.
If it were to be assimilated,
the collective would be more powerful.
What I'm proposing
is the only defence against that,
short of ***,
and that's an order I prefer not to give.
As I recall, Seven,
there were a few crewmembers
who had similar doubts about you.
- This is different.
- Is it?
A Borg, disconnected
from the collective,
unsure of its identity.
A potential threat, but we succeeded.
We'll pull the same trick again.
Only this time, you're the teacher.
I am to instruct the drone
in the ways of humanity?
Think of it as first contact.
And you are our ambassador.
Maturation cycle is complete.
We are Borg.
State our designation.
Irrelevant.
You are not part of the collective.
You are an individual.
You receive instructions from me.
- lnsufficient.
- You must comply.
Insufficient.
We are Borg.
My designation is Seven of Nine,
Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero One.
- You may call me Seven of Nine.
- Seven of Nine.
- You will comply with my commands.
- Seven of Nine.
Yes.
We are not Borg.
We are individuals.
- Do you understand?
- State our designation.
- Apparently not.
- lts responses are programmed.
It doesn't understand.
I must initiate a direct neural interface.
- Are you sure that's wise?
- There is no other way.
Proceed.
You will not be harmed.
Resistance is futile.
I am providing it with instructions.
It understands.
The drone is probing
my neural pathways.
It is trying to assimilate all of
my knowledge.
I cannot disengage.
Terminate interface.
You must comply.
You are hurting me.
I will comply.
Daily log, Seven of Nine.
I've activated the drone's
linguistic database.
A direct neural link is too dangerous
so I'll use Borg data nodes.
Special delivery, two Borg data nodes.
More? Link them to the data port.
How many Borg hitchhikers
are we going to pick up?
Maybe this is the Borg's new strategy.
Show up and look helpless.
Now, B'Elanna.
What will it become?
It's gone from infant to adult in one day.
It will become what we help it to become.
How Starfleet of you.
Seven of Nine to Neelix.
Report to the
science lab.
Bring the first data node.
On my way.
We are Borg.
State our designation.
I've compiled information
into this data node for you to assimilate.
- We do not understand.
- You will.
Assimilate the data.
Come here.
Comply.
Give me your arm.
Inject the data node
with an assimilation tubule, here.
We do not understand.
- Your designation is Seven of Nine.
- Yes.
- Your designation is Neelix.
- That's me.
This is a laboratory.
On a vessel.
The starship Voyager.
- I am travelling through space.
- Yes.
- Why?
- This is a ship of exploration.
- I am an explorer.
- We all are.
- We are Borg.
- Well, no.
You are a unique individual.
One of many.
This is not a Borg collective.
Do you understand?
Individual.
My thoughts are my own.
Precisely.
- I wish to assimilate more information.
- Not yet.
Neural pathways require time
to process information.
You will need to regenerate soon.
I will adapt one of the alcoves
to your technology.
Take the drone to the Doctor for
medical analysis.
Go with him.
All members of this crew must report
to the sickbay for evaluation.
When I am finished here, I will join you.
Duranium hull.
Plasma-based power distribution.
Tricylic life-support systems.
Artificial gravity plating.
Right.
Systems analysis
appears to be your forte.
- Think about a future in operations.
- Human.
Female.
Very good.
- She was frightened.
- Why do you say that?
I detected an elevation
in her response.
An unfamiliar face
takes some getting used to.
When I first came aboard
I provoked strange reactions.
I still do.
Just look at me.
Whiskers and spots.
- Were people afraid of you as well?
- No.
Do they fear me because I am Borg?
Borg can be a little intimidating.
Don't take it personally.
- I want to know about the collective.
- Of course.
- Tell me.
- What's to tell.
You've seen one enhanced species
you've seen them all.
You'll have plenty of time to learn.
First give yourself a chance
to adapt to life on Voyager.
Now, Mr In all the excitement
I forgot your name.
- I do not have a name.
- Every individual needs a name.
We can't call you "the drone".
That's not interesting.
- Seven of Nine says it is irrelevant.
- I disagree.
You should choose a name.
Something that defines you.
There's only one of you.
- One.
- Here we are.
Sickbay.
Good morning.
- Emergency Medical Hologram.
- You are observant.
- Step this way.
- I have to get back to mess hall.
There's nothing to worry about.
You'll be finished before you know it.
I will comply.
It's a non-invasive biomedical scan.
You won't feel a thing.
Normal central nervous system.
But there's degradation in your neural
pathways.
You'll need to regenerate.
My central nervous system
is regulated by your mobile emitter.
That's right.
- It is more advanced than these tools.
- Far more advanced.
It came from the 29th Century,
- I am an advanced form of life.
- Yes.
I am unique.
- Describe my origins.
- Long story.
I wish to hear it.
I wish to hear the story.
Now.
There was a transporter malfunction.
My emitter fused with several
of Seven of Nine's nanoprobes.
- I was an accident.
- A random convergence of technology.
Am I unwelcome here?
On the contrary.
Our primary mission
is to explore new forms of life.
You may have been unexpected,
but I'm sure you'll make a fine addition.
You have my mobile emitter
driving your neocortex
so you're bound to make
a dazzling impression.
- That's called a joke.
- Joke.
A comment designed
to provoke laughter.
You have your mother's
sense of humour.
Deck 11, section 32, main
engineering.
That is the warp core.
Fuelled by a reaction which produces
providing power for fast propulsion.
- Correct.
- This isn't a classroom, Seven.
Lieutenant Torres.
Klingon-human hybrid.
She possesses extensive knowledge
and a volatile temperament.
Volatile.
English adjective.
Meaning readily vaporisable.
Easily aroused.
- Tending to eruption.
- You get a gold star.
The captain asked me to familiarise
the drone with Voyager.
How about familiarising him
with the airponics bay?
I have to predict the expansion rate
of this protonebula
or Janeway will pull the plug
on the survey.
- Do you mind?
- A multispatial algorithm will work.
I can demonstrate.
All right.
Amazing.
Greetings.
Our designation
My designation is One.
How are you today?
I'm just fine, thank you.
- One?
- He requested a designation.
One seemed appropriate.
- And how are you today, One?
- Well.
Thank you, Captain.
- Adapting to life here?
- Yes.
I've assimilated 47 billion teraquads
of information on subjects
including particle physics,
comparative humanoid anatomy,
and culinary delights
of the Delta Quadrant.
Mr Neelix.
They've been
spending time together.
Is your assessment of me complete?
Am I sufficient?
More than sufficient.
In fact, you're making excellent progress.
But this isn't an assessment.
I would like to be excused.
Lieutenant Torres wishes
to improve the Bussard collectors.
Permission granted.
- You've done a remarkable job.
- Thank you.
He has absorbed
an incredible amount of knowledge,
and he's fitting in and developing
a distinct personality.
He is adapting quickly.
Then why do I feel
something is bothering you?
He has been expressing curiosity
about the Borg.
You're worried if he learns about them
he may be drawn to the collective.
Yes.
We should tell him.
I'd rather he learn
about the Borg from us.
The lure of perfection is powerful.
He may want to seek them out.
That would pose a grave tactical risk.
We can delay telling him,
but keep in mind
the drone is becoming an individual,
he has the right to know.
Sooner or later we'll have
to answer his questions.
Deck 8, section 4, cargo bay 2.
Used for storage of surplus materials.
And where I regenerate.
You will reside here.
- I wish to assimilate more information.
- It's enough for one day.
You've also provided assistance
to the crew.
- You exceeded expectations.
- Then they were insufficient.
- A simple thank you would suffice.
- Thank you?
A customary expression of gratitude.
I paid you a compliment.
We must regenerate.
This technology does not conform
with Starfleet parameters.
I am Borg.
This technology is Borg.
- We must regenerate.
- I wish to assimilate all Borg data.
Step into the alcove.
No, you must face outward.
Computer, activate regeneration cycle.
Alcoves beta and gamma.
Seven of Nine.
Yes.
Thank you.
We must regenerate.
A Borg proximity signal
has been detected.
Origin, Unimatrix 325.
Grid, 006.
Alter course to intercept.
Captain?
The drone transmitted a Borg
proximity signal.
Wake him.
- You contacted the collective?
- No.
Check his transceiver.
You deactivated my transceiver
two days ago.
Your cranial implants created
a secondary transceiver.
- A Borg fail-safe device.
- Have you detected any vessels?
Long-range sensors picked up
a transwarp conduit.
- A ship is approaching.
- Time to intercept?
- Approximately three hours.
- The Borg?
Yes.
- I wish to meet them.
- Seven.
I think it's time we showed our drone
what the Borg are all about.
- They have assimilated many species.
- Correct.
What becomes of those species?
Their neural pathways are linked
to a collective mind - the hive.
Their bodies augmented with technology.
They become drones.
I wish to experience the hive mind.
If you did, then you wouldn't be unique.
The Borg will destroy your individuality.
- And that isundesirable?
- Very.
The Borg are the most
destructive force we know.
They've assimilated billions of individuals
against their will.
- You were assimilated.
- My link to the collective was severed.
When you were in the collective
you assimilated others.
Yes.
You call the Borg destructive.
- Seven of Nine is not.
- She has regained her individuality.
If the Borg had the chance,
they'd take it away from her again.
They'd assimilate
everyone on Voyager.
With your technology, they would
become even more destructive.
We have to prevent that,
but we can't do it without you.
We need your abilities to enhance
our defences - shields, weapons.
Will you help us resist them?
Seven of Nine, do you wish
to rejoin the collective?
Voyager is my collective.
I will need time to assimilate
this information.
Battle stations.
Borg vessel approaching.
We just ran out of time.
Seven of Nine, I'm detecting
irregularities in my nervous system.
Cardiovascular excitation.
You are experiencing anxiety.
It is only temporary.
Anxiety.
Apprehension caused by fear.
- The Borg elicit this response.
- Are you anxious as well?
Yes, along with every crewmember.
- Because they fear assimilation?
- Correct.
Deck 1.
- Seven of Nine.
- Yes?
- What will happen now?
- We will engage the Borg.
Will Voyager be destroyed?
The Borg are powerful,
but Captain Janeway is resourceful.
- We will resist.
- Resistance is futile.
Perhaps.
- The Borg vessel is in range.
- On screen.
Long-range tactical vessel.
Transwarp
capability.
Ablative hull armour.
- We're being scanned.
- They're preparing to attack.
You must help us enhance our shields.
Access the shield generators.
- They're hailing us.
- Open a channel.
We are the Borg.
You will be assimilated.
Resistance is futile.
I can hear them in my mind.
- They've locked on a tractor beam.
- The collective is calling to me.
I hear it, too.
Billions of voices speaking as one.
We must resist that voice.
The crew of Voyager
will be destroyed if we don't.
Our shields are remodulating.
- We've broken free.
- Can you enhance our phasers?
- Yes.
- Do it.
When he has finished,
target their propulsion system.
Be prepared to jump to warp, Mr Paris.
Enhancements complete.
You may fire.
- What happened?
- They inverted our phaser beam.
They took out our warp drive.
Your technology is limited.
I cannot enhance it further.
I must interface with them,
disrupt them from within.
- They will try to assimilate you.
- They will fail.
- Harry, lock on to the drone.
- That won't be necessary.
He's inside the sphere.
We are the Borg.
You will be assimilated.
My technology is superior.
Stop your attack, or I will destroy you.
Your technological distinctiveness
will be added to our own.
Resistance is futile.
Shields down to 25%.
He's accessing
their navigational controls.
It's heading directly for the nebula.
Their hull will collapse.
Terminate your interface.
Stand down Red Alert.
Tuvok, secure all stations.
Organise damage control
teams, Chakotay.
Captain, I'm reading a lifesign
in the debris.
It's the drone.
He survived.
He's erected a multispatial force field,
but it is weakening.
Get a lock on him.
Beam him to sickbay.
- Damage?
- His implants are regenerating.
But not his biological systems.
Severe trauma to the cerebral cortex.
He needs immediate surgery.
- The sphere?
- Destroyed.
You were successful.
While I was linked to the Borg
I could hear their thoughts,
their objectives.
They are aware of my existence.
They will pursue me.
Irrelevant.
They will fail.
- I need to get started.
- No, I should not exist.
I was an accident.
A random convergence of technology.
- You are unique.
- I was never meant to be.
As long as I exist, you are in danger.
All life on Voyager is in danger.
We can talk about this later.
Allow the Doctor to proceed.
- Lower the force field.
- His synapses are failing.
- You must comply.
- I will not.
You must comply.
Please.
You are hurting me.
You will adapt.
I'm sorry.