Chapter 61
Seven took position behind the podium and started to speak. "I would say 'good day', but I have a feeling that you will not perceive it as such. Instead let me introduce myself. I am One of Many, née Annika Hansen; Queen of Borg. I came here under good faith to normalize the Borg/Federation relationship, only to be attacked unprovoked. As a security measure we took the step of occupying Earth on a temporary basis. Please do not try anything foolish. At the moment there are over half a billion Borg drones on Earth; you would not be successful in resisting. And even if you were, that would only result in us bringing in more drones. If need be until each and every person on Earth is outnumbered two to one and literally has two guards standing beside them at any moment. Rest assured that this is only temporary and that we will hand control of Earth back to you as soon as the situation has worked itself out."
"That's what the Cardassians said as well."
Seven guessed that the Bajoran who had mumbled those words had not expected that Seven could hear her, but Seven chose to address it nevertheless.
"Someone here in the front just pointed out; 'That's what the Cardassians said as well'. I do not know if they used the same exact words when they occupied Bajor. But let me assure you that there is one big difference between us and the Cardassians."
Knowing that everyone could see her because of the huge viewscreen, Seven lifted her hand and extended her assimilation tubes. She figured that since the Federation didn't know about the new ways of the Borg, she might as well use the horror image that most of them had about the Borg.
"If we truly wanted to control Earth we would not have to occupy it; after thirty minutes of mass assimilation you would be doing it for us. We would not need to leave drones here to keep you under control; you would gladly follow our every command, including the one of assimilating the person standing beside you. If we wanted Earth that badly, it would now be considered ours."
Then she placed her hand back on the speaker podium. "But we do not want that. The Borg Collective has changed. We are no longer the evil you all perceive us to be; but we can still be a deadly threat if provoked. Please do not provoke us. You will be in control of this planet again soon. Until that time you are free to move around on Starfleet headquarters and Academy grounds, but not to leave those. You are free to use communications to contact other people to let them know that you are still alright. But also know that all these drones you see around you have the order to stop any form of resistance; with deadly force if need be. Please, do not try to be a hero; you would only die a fool."
Seven looked at the sea of people for a moment before fixing on a person about twenty rows into the mass of people. "Admiral Alynna Nechayev, could you join me please; I believe we have a few things to discuss."
Seven stepped away from the podium and Nechayev slowly came closer. She reached them just in time to hear Seven address one of the Zamonan commanders. "Be kind, but firm. If our people need to defend themselves, do so in whatever means necessary. But this is considered a friendly encounter. If someone is killed by one of ours, a mind scan will be performed and the person will be punished accordingly if there is reason to."
"Yes, my Queen," the Zamonan ground commander of the assigned district assured.
Dismissing the commander, Seven looked at the blonde admiral in silence for a moment. From the files she had on Federation personnel, Seven knew the woman to be fifty-five years old, driven, determined, and someone that was consider cold, aloof, and distanced. In short, Seven realized, a woman she would come to either like or hate; with no middle ground. But then, that didn't really matter. One could work very well with people one hated, as long as both sides acted professional. "Admiral, please walk with me."
Knowing that she didn't have much choice, Nechayev did so.
"I must admit that I'm surprised to find you here on Starfleet headquarters grounds, and yet not participating in talks with the Borg Collective. Would you mind explaining to me why the Commander-in-Chief of Starfleet would opt to have two admirals negotiate with me, very poorly I might add, instead of doing it herself?"
Nechayev clearly looked confused. "It's what you asked for yourself," she finally said with a frown. "You had Janeway here clearly state that you did not want to talk to me because you knew that I would be an 'insecure factor' since I have a personal reason to hate the Borg."
"You do?" Seven asked, then she looked at Janeway, "And when did you state that? I was present when you talked to Admiral Paris."
"I never did say that," Janeway assured. "Why would I? Besides, Admiral Nechayev is in the end my direct commanding officer. I can't tell her to stay away; at the best I can suggest it."
With that Seven looked back at Nechayev. "We need a place to talk, do you have suggestions? And please, not again a place with phasers and gas emitters in it."
Nechayev actually stopped walking. "They took you to one of the high security rooms? That was not the plan."
"It seems that more questions come up with every word we speak," Seven noted. "Please, suggest a location to talk."
"Actually, if I may suggest one," Janeway spoke up. "Not far that way is a nice place where Starfleet people often go to eat lunch. It's a nice day out, and you have enough security with you to clear out the area so that nobody can hear what we talk about. There are tables there that are big enough to seat all of us, even the guards if you want to."
"That would do, if you want to stay outside," Nechayev agreed.
Not much later they were sitting at one of the tables. Pagsha had opted to sit beside Seven and B'Elanna, while Katzi had set down beside Janeway, who was sitting beside Nechayev. That way Katzi could look past Seven and keep security in her mind while the other three Royal Guards had taken position behind Seven. The Advanced Tactical Security Detail under command of Maindi, that had not left Seven's side ever since exiting the corridor, had now once more taken up their protective circle a little further away from the table so that they could provide security, but not crowd the people at the table.
"Very well," Seven started. "Admiral, you said that it was not the plan to bring me to what you call a 'high security room'. Why not?" Seven thought that she knew, but she needed to be sure if there were at least some intelligent people in Starfleet.
"What's the use?" Nechayev asked. "We know that the Borg are technologically highly advanced. You have body armor that our phasers can't get through, and it's a known fact that Borg drones can be in outer space without a spacesuit. So what's the use in bringing you into a room that has Phasers in it and cyanide gas? You just hold your breath and beam out."
"Admirals Hendricks and T'Lara seemed to think that it was enough of an insurance that I was on Earth and 'secured' for the Borg to be at their total mercy."
Nechayev just looked at her in disbelief.
"She's right," Janeway added.
"That's total nonsense," Nechayev said dismissively. "Even if we had you in our power here, the Borg could one-up us by simply threatening to destroy Mars and our colonies there if we didn't free you. Or what about destroying our moon? Without the moon, and the resulting lack of tides, Earth would be condemned to a slow death. Look, I honestly don't know what got into Hendricks and T'Lara, but I can tell you that this was not done at my command. We have a war going on with the Dominion; the last thing I want is to pick a fight with the Borg as well when I might be able to prevent that by nothing more than play nice to their Queen."
Seven was able to hide her amusement, barely, but B'Elanna smirked. Then the Klingon asked, "Then I assume that you also claim that you have no knowledge of your fleet up there, or about them attacking our ship?"
Once again Nechayev looked at Janeway.
"True," Janeway assured. "Hendricks is the one that gave the order for attack."
"I'll have those morons court-martialed," Nechayev said furiously. "Of course I knew about the fleet; that was on my order. You can't hold it against us to be prepared."
"We do not," Seven assured.
"But I can assure you that I had given Hendricks the very clear order that he was only allowed to attack when you had made the first move; hostile move that is."
"Very well, then please explain what you mean with you having a personal reason to hate the Borg. And you said that Kathryn clearly said that I did not wish to speak to you?"
"T'Lara showed me the recording that Paris made. In it Kathryn clearly stated that I should not be seen during negotiations; that was one of your demands."
"I said no such thing," Janeway assured.
"And I can confirm that," Seven added. "I was there during that conversation. For some of it I was off screen, but I never left the room. And it is also impossible for her to have contacted Starfleet after that because first of all we would have picked up the signal, and second of all with the MIDAS array having powered down after the transmission, Voyager could only have contacted Starfleet with the help of Borg technology. I assure you, no such signal was sent. Your personal reason?"
"My personal reason for hating the Borg?" Nechayev asked. "Easy, during the battle of Wolf 359, a family member of mine was killed by you."
"Not by me; by the Borg," Seven corrected. She knew what Nechayev meant, but still wanted to make it clear that she herself had nothing to do with it.
"Same difference," Nechayev dismissed.
"I disagree. During the battle of Wolf 359, I was still a Borg drone that was under the full control of the Hive mind, which in turn was controlled by the old Queen. I am sorry for your loss. However, I do not consider myself responsible for it. We are no longer the Collective that we were then. That Collective was under the control of a Queen whose power had made her believe that she was an omnipotent being. Well, she did not literally think that, but over time I have found that this is the easiest way to explain to people the kind of mindset that Queen had in general. With me the Borg Collective has changed. I am still in control of the Collective, but now because they give me that control. The Collective has changed to where individuality is now once more appreciated. They have come to realize that individuality does not by definition mean the end of a united Borg Collective; that in fact individuality can enhance the united feeling of the Collective."
Seven hesitated before explaining, "In the Collective there are billions of people that have assimilated others; me included. The Collective has destroyed thousands of cultures by turning species into drones that did not care about their former culture. Planets had been destroyed, wars have been started; billions have been killed. In short, people were right to call the Borg Collective an evil unlike any other. But we do not have omnipotent powers, we cannot turn back time. What happened is in the past. We can either feel shame and crippling remorse for those actions that we had no control over, or we can take the Borg Collective as a fact and use it to better the life of trillions. I have decided to do the latter. The past has happened, and while I will express remorse for pain that people had to suffer, and apologize for that pain. I will not apologize for actions of the Collective that were made before I became their Queen. For better or worse; all of them were needed to result in where we are today."
"And just how was Wolf 359 needed, other than 40,000 Federation people being killed?" Nechayev asked bitterly.
"Wolf 359 made the Federation aware of the Borg. If Wolf 359 had not happened, Voyager would not have been prepared for the Borg when they met them the first time and would have been assimilated or destroyed then. The information of Wolf 359 prevented that. It is because of this that Voyager survived to the point where Captain Janeway could form a temporary alliance with the Collective in the battle with the Siill. And it is this that resulted in me becoming part of the Voyager crew. This in turn resulted in me meeting my Mate B'Elanna Torres. Who on her turn was able to convince the Borg Collective to let me have my individuality as Queen. This in turn resulted in us being able to change the Borg. This in turn resulted in us now talking, instead of you now being a Borg drone. One of Earth's scientists from the past once said; to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. That statement is outdated since we now know that the reactions can be bigger than the original action. At Wolf 359, 40,000 people died, and because of that today the four billion inhabitants on Earth were not assimilated."
"Now, why don't we discuss something just as interesting," B'Elanna asked. "You keep coming back to Wolf 359. If you feel that Seven is responsible for that, then should we hold you responsible for your attack on Unimatrix 01? If you had managed to destroy our home, you would've killed two billion drones."
B'Elanna smirked before continuing. "You say that you didn't give the order, but as Commander-in-Chief you're responsible for all Starfleet actions. So, should we start trialing you for the attempted murder of two billion people? Or should we stop the pissing contest and simply say that all that happened until this minute is in the past, and we go on from here?"
"I'm listening," Nechayev said after a moment of hesitation.
"Actually, if I may point out," Pagsha spoke up. "I think that the situation with Admirals Hendricks and T'Lara needs more attention. Nobody in the position of command can be that stupid. Admiral Nechayev just had a good point. They have a war going on, so why do their best to pick a fight with someone that's not coming for that fight? We have almost fifteen thousand species in the Collective. And even the few species that never had a single war in their history still have, because of person to person reasons, a version of the saying, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend.' So,"
"So," Seven said in understanding. "Why try to alienate a potential 'friend?' Why do the best to not just turn us away, but instead even try to get us hostile towards the Federation? Why not instead get down on their knees and appeal to our conscience? Why not have some of B'Elanna's Academy teachers be present to greet us, and then in a 'by the way' manner talk about the war and just how much the Federation is in need of help. Why not plead to the fact that I, the Borg Queen, am Human, and how the Dominion wants to destroy all of Humanity?"
"The way there were acting you would be forgiven to think that they were working for the Dominion," B'Elanna noted. "That could be the only winner from their behavior. Either we would've had enough and just left; depriving the Federation of a powerful ally. Or in the best case scenario for the Dominion we would even have decided to start war on the Federation."
"At which time the Dominion could come in and try to get in contact with us so that we could join forces to destroy the evil Federation," Pagsha added. "If they had been working for the Dominion then all of this would at least make some kind of sense. I mean, let's think for a moment. Forget about alliance, friend, or enemy. The last anyone here in the Alpha Quadrant knows we are a ruthless, cold, and emotionless evil that is set to destroy or assimilate all. The only counter to that knowledge is the contact Kathryn had with Admiral Paris. If we are that evil force, then why poke us like Hendricks and T'Lara did? If we truly were that evil, they could have provoked us right into simply destroying, or at least assimilating, Earth."
"Where are they now, by the way?" Nechayev asked. "If you didn't know things that you can only know by them having done as you said, and the fact that Captain Janeway was present, I would never believe any of this. Hendricks and T'Lara have a perfect track record."
But only moments after saying this, Nechayev frowned.
"What?" B'Elanna asked.
"It's nothing," Nechayev assured.
"Admiral, strange things are going on here," Janeway reminded. "'Nothing' might actually be 'something'."
"Well," Nechayev hesitated. "Look, I just don't want to sound as if I'm trying to find excuses."
"Try me," Seven suggested.
"It's just that Hendricks made some bad choices lately. All explainable, and all understandable... but still. But more interesting, I had to give T'Lara a reprimand last week for neglect of duty. Was it someone else it would not be worth mentioning. We all have those reprimands; even I get them from time to time from the Federation President. But we're talking about T'Lara: a Vulcan. For her getting such a reprimand is like a huge insult. Yet there was no real reaction. Well, not that you see much reactions with Vulcans, but still."
"What if they were working for the Dominion for real?" B'Elanna wondered. "As I said, that's the only explanation that makes sense."
"No," Nechayev said resolutely. "I know both of them for years, and on top of that they both have passed their annual test with our Betazoid councilor for years."
"But what if it's not them?" B'Elanna reasoned. "We're talking about a species of shape shifters. And your annual test is just that; annual. That's a damn long time to do stuff if they had been replaced shortly after their test."
"We have put security measures in place to prevent that," Nechayev reminded.
"Security can be bypassed," Seven countered. "But we can find it out within one minute. If they truly are Changelings than it would make even more sense because then you have another option to add to the mix. Not only that we destroy Earth or align ourselves with the Dominion because of apparent Starfleet actions, but maybe the one we did; beam them to the ship for safekeeping. How about that for an option? A changeling taking over the position of Borg Queen and be in control of the Borg Collective."
Both Nechayev and Janeway blanched at the mere suggestion.
"It would not work," Seven assured, "But just like you, they would not know that. If this option is viable then they would assume that they would be beamed to a holding cell, where they can first act like they were Borg that were placed there by the escaped Admirals. And once out they could search me out and take my place."
"And why would this not work?" Nechayev asked worried.
"Because we have no holding cells. We have no crime in the Collective, not even something as simple as petty theft. This because people know that they would not get away with their actions; their mind is scanned every seventy-two hours. So in the rare occasions where we have to confine people because of outside influences, like now, we simply hold those people inside the transporter buffer until we can deal with them further. We felt that this is a good option because there they do not notice the passing of time, even if we have to hold them as a pattern for weeks. This is also why we can easily check if they are shape shifters; we can simply have one of our doctors analyze their pattern."
Seven paused for a moment to let them contemplate that. "As you see, even trying to get into position to take my place is basically impossible. And even if this was not the case, we still have our implants. Even as I speak, I am connected to the Hive mind. If I were killed so that others could take my place, the entire Collective would know. The same if they managed to hold me prisoner in some secret location. Either I could let the Hive know over my link, or they would still know that something is wrong if the changelings managed to interrupt my link. I sincerely doubt that they would be able to mimic the implants, and have things like our neural link work. And even if they managed all of that by some miracle, they would be found out the first time they regenerated."
"Good point," Nechayev said relieved. "Even Odo can't mimic something as simple as a communicator; he has a real one with him all the time that he absorbs into his body if he changes shape."
"Our best doctor, doctor Lonika, just had a look at the transporter buffer. He told me that he needs more time for a detailed analysis, but he could tell me that on a DNA level the beings in the buffer are neither Human, nor Vulcan."
Seven hesitated before adding, "My personal guess is that they are indeed Changelings. You might want to give us a scan of Constable Odo to do a comparison to be absolutely sure."
Despite the situation, Nechayev smirked. "I guess that this is the time for me to tell you that I don't believe you; why should I?"
It was B'Elanna that answered. "You don't have to believe us. Frankly you don't have a choice. If we say they're Changelings, you need to act like they are, even if you really think they aren't. Cold, but true; two people sacrificed to potentially get the help of the Borg in your war. I think that even the real Hendricks and T'Lara, if they're still alive, would want you to take that chance."
Nechayev nodded. Each and every Starfleet officer was assumed to be willing to sacrifice their life in the line of duty if it was needed. She knew that she herself would be the first to step up and say 'kill me' if it was assured the help of a party that could help win the war.
"I'm a bit surprised that they didn't take your place, Admiral," Pagsha noted. "If they managed to get into Starfleet command, then why not go all the way to the top?"
"Actually, I'm surprised that they would go as high as the full Admiral level," Nechayev countered, deciding to believe these people on the fact that Hendricks and T'Lara were not what they had presented themselves to be. It was the only thing that made all other parts make sense.
"Why?" Pagsha asked confused.
"Well, to answer your question of 'why not me' first; because unlike if they were to replace your Queen here, I'm a one time deal. If they were to replace me then, yes, they would get their hands on all kind of interesting information, but they couldn't use it. I have information that only I, the Federation President, and one or two people that were affected know. If the Dominion were to use that they could get away with it once because then the choice would be between the people I just mentioned. But use a second piece of information, then you know right away that either I or the President is to blame because now those other people are no longer in the picture since it's on a different subject and it concerns other people. On top of that if I, or the other higher admirals, make a big mistake once then we're done. While they don't have as much power, in Starfleet it is actually the Captains, Commodores, and Rear-Admirals that can get away with the most screw-ups. I, if I make a mistake I'll be 'politely' asked to resign; leave Starfleet entirely. But if a Rear-Admiral messes up, he's demoted to Commodore, and if he messes up there he's demoted to Captain. And Captains on their turn have an autonomy that even Commodores and rear-Admirals no longer have."
Nechayev pointed at Kathryn before adding, "Take Captain Janeway here. I know from her files that were sent to us over the last months that she's made some choices that deserve a court-martial. Yet when all is said and done she'll probably end up with a range of commendations and maybe even a promotion to Commodore or rear-Admiral. Why? Because out there she was Starfleet. For years her voice was our voice. She did right, and she did wrong, and in the end the balance is positive. But if an Admiral makes a wrong choice today, they have to give explanations tomorrow. In other words, we don't get the luxury of time to make good choices that balance out our bad ones. With us every bad choice is evaluated on a one on one basis while the good ones are merely us doing our job."
Then Nechayev looked back at Seven. "If you don't mind, I would like to have custody over them."
"I am sure you would," Seven said amused.
"So what are you planning to do now?" Janeway asked, having a feeling that Seven would only hand over the two impostors when, and if, she was ready.
Seven thought about the question for a moment. "I would say that this is simple. It seems that both sides want the Borg in the war. I am going to do just that."
"And on what side?" Nechayev couldn't help but ask.
"On our own side."
"Don't you just love it when she gives answers like that," B'Elanna asked with a chuckle. Then looking at her Mate she asked, "Care to be a bit more precise than that?"
"Not now. Once we are back on the ship we will be having a meeting with the Senior Staff and walk through options. But I can tell you that as far as I am concerned the First Fleet will see some action soon."
"The First Fleet?" Janeway asked.
"One of the changes we made to the Borg," Seven explained. "Before, cubes were assigned a task depending on who was the closest. While in emergencies we still do that, we created the 'First Fleet' as an armed force that will be sent in to deal with conflicts if we do have the luxury of time. It exists out of cubes with advanced weapons and shields."
"And just how many cubes are we talking about?" Nechayev asked.
"The First Fleet exists out of 50,000 cubes. Each of which carries a Primary Auxiliary Fleet of two bioships, and also a Secondary Auxiliary Fleet of one sphere. And each cube is manned by 100,000 drones."
"You're firm believer in overkill aren't you?" Nechayev asked in disbelief, trying to wrap her mind around the fact that someone could actually so casually call fifty thousand ships, and five billion people to a conflict... and then call it the 'First' fleet; indicating that there was even more that could be called upon. Starfleet herself had once boasted a very proud number of four thousand starships. But that included all ships bigger than a shuttle, and not counting the ships already lost during the war.
"Actually, I think that the word 'overkill' is exactly the point," Seven noted. "I am a firm believer in showing people that I do not merely give empty words. I believe that by showing that I truly do have the forces to simply overrun, destroy, or suppress, then maybe people are more inclined to talk and make sure that such a scenario can be prevented."
"And just how long will it take that 'First Fleet' to get here, and just what exactly are you planning to do?" Nechayev asked.
"The First Fleet arrived seventeen minutes ago. As soon as the Hendricks imposter told me that we were going to talk about the surrender of the Borg, the signal was sent for them to come here. There are only two reasons why you do not know about their arrival. First, because you did not have access to sensors. And second, even if you had, Starfleet are not the only ones that know cloak technology. But unlike you we do not hide the fact that we have it; it is a very convenient technology."
"So what are you planning to do with them? You already have Earth occupied," Nechayev noted.
"As I said, plans will be discussed with the people I rely on for advice. But my idea at the moment is that I intend to level the playing field, so to speak. One of the reasons why this war is still going on is because both sides firmly believe that they can win. I intend to make it clear that winning is no longer an option. Now the option is to decide if they want to go down in history as losers, or as people that negotiated their differences."
"Meaning?" Nechayev asked.
"Taking the Federation as an example?" Seven asked.
"Please."
"For the Federation this means that as soon as I consulted with my Senior Staff, and the Collective in general, about just what exactly we want, and as soon as I contacted the other parties, for the Federation the war with the Dominion is over. From that moment on you have the Borg to deal with. Either you agree to conditions and the Borg take over the protection of the Federation, or you do not agree and the Dominion will be the very least of your problems."
Having made that clear, Seven explained, "All the other parties will get the same offer. From the information I have, I understand that this war is not as much about what you want, but about what you do not want. For instance, I believe that the Federation would be content with the Dominion retreating to the Gamma Quadrant and consider that their territory. What you do not want, and why you are fighting this war, is for the Dominion to take over territory here in the Alpha and Beta Quadrant. For the Dominion it is more about their paranoid mentality of 'what you control cannot hurt you'. They want to control the Federation so that it cannot get into a position where it can hurt the Dominion in the Gamma Quadrant. I will make it very clear to them that they will never be able to control the Borg, so they might want to consider settling for our assurance that we will make sure that others will not hurt them without suffering the wrath of the Borg Collective."
"You do realize that the Dominion oppresses the people in the Gamma Quadrant, right?" Nechayev asked.
"And you know that your allies, the Klingons, actually enslave the species of one of the planets in their solar system, right?" B'Elanna countered. "Or how about the other force you flirt with? You want the neutral Romulans to enter the war on your side. If they were to offer their alliance to you, would you decline it because the Romulans that live on Romulus' sister planet Remus are considered second class people, or that they actually also enslave the original inhabitants of those planets? Please, don't play fake righteousness with us just because it makes for a good argument; we also know the other sides."
"Besides," Seven added, "With the Dominion there is the rather interesting paradox that the more faithful a species is to them, the freer they are left. Under the 'oppressing' Dominion there was, and in fact still is, a thriving economy going on and territory is securely protected. Which makes cargo ships more secure than they are in the Federation. It is when species object to the rule of the Dominion that the Dominion becomes... forceful... with them. In many ways living under the Dominion is more liberal than some of the constricting Federation rules. This because in the Dominion there is only one absolute rule; the Dominion is in control. The rest can be talked about. With the new way that we now do things in the Borg there has also come a way of doing business with species that control other species. For instance, we do not say that we do not want to have anything to do with the Klingons because they enslave a different species. Instead we would work with the Klingons, introduce other options, which will result over time in the enslaved species no longer being needed as slaves and also becoming a free species of the Borg Collective. They may not become free within weeks, months, or even years, but the point is that eventually they become free. Where before they would have continued on as slaves for many centuries more."
"You said that your... help... for the Federation depends on whether or not we agree to certain conditions. What are those conditions?" Nechayev asked.
Continued...