Holding hands

You sat in your pillowy seat for a few moments before Mariner stated what was on everyone’s minds. “What the fuck was that?” Maybe not what everyone was thinking.

“They were just standing in a hallway and holding hands,” Diana frowned in confusion. “Were they not supposed to be working on something? I thought as drones they would either be working or resting.”

“Anything to add Jacey?” Jacey let out a little ‘hmm’, gathering her thoughts on how to answer you.

“Well, you remember how I mentioned how Janeway’s virus wreaked havoc on the Borg systems’ and the cube’s resource problem,” Jacey reminded the group; you have a vague recollection of such information. “And how the Borg has both a drone shortage and an assimilation bug where w-they can’t assimilate as much?” You were starting to suspect comments you, Aelita, Mariner and T’Lyn made during your trip to the past changed the virus Janeway used on the Borg because you don’t recall anything altering the assimilation process in the shows.

Jacey saw Mariner and Boimler’s nods and continued. “Well, due to some knowledge corruption and the need for more drones. Instead of assimilating, the Borg Queen adapted by putting your drones to work on ‘making’ drones.”

Mariner let out a bark of laughter, “And *snort* she was having them hold hands?!”

“I was always told holding hands led to babies,” you remarked. Mariner snorted and glanced at you only to double take.

“Wait, is that why you never held my hands back in the academy?” Mariner asked. You guess your mostly serious face gave her an impression. You cracked a smirk.

“Well not anymore…” you chuckled with a shake of your head. Finding out that gloves on your hands was the incorrect type of ‘protection’ was embarrassing but was a funny story to tell at parties.

As your laughter petered out, you noticed Jacey had an almost angered expression, with her brows frowned and mouth narrowed. The moment she detected your observation, her expression quickly snapped back to the relaxed and easygoing manner she’s been holding so far. You shared a look with Diana and she signaled that she saw it too.

“At least you kn—,” the simulation twisted and shook, causing your vision to dissolve into a mess of colors and static.

“What the fuck!” You found yourself on the ‘ground’ as the beach repaired itself only with furniture and people in the wrong place now. In the distance, you see beach goers digging themselves out of the ground or falling out of the air. “What was that?!”

“What happened to my arm?!” Boimler shouted as he held up his arm which had become a full Borg arm. You felt something on your face and as you reached up, you saw a Borg arm like you saw on your actual body. Your face itched, you found something over your left eye and wires. In the cabana and down the beach others had found themselves with miscellaneous implants. Mariner had an ocular implant and half her head covered in metallic plating and tubes while Diana had various leg and arm augmentations.

Jacey was frozen in her seat, “that was not a good sign…” She gritted her teeth right before another surge hit.

(A few minutes before)

“Who gave you a license?” Kyoka groaned as she picked herself off of the floor of the ice cream shop/ship.

“~Kirlia~ Kirl kirlia lia,” Pixel said as she crawled out from under a console and rubbed her head.

“Yeah at least she got us onboard,” Jessica chirped up as she got up and looked out the window. “It looks like she got us inside some kind of storage bay place. It looks clear. Let’s go!”

“Hold on, I can’t let you go on a Borg ship,” Tendi declared. Jessica had accidentally released her from the vines during the crash.

“The ship is broken, I’ll be a sitting duck if I stay,” Jessica pointed out. Tendi’s eye twitched but she eventually sighed.

“Fine but you are not going to leave my side, you got it,” Tendi ordered and glared at Jessica. Jessica crossed her arms and pouted; when Tendi didn’t let her go for the stairs, Jessica finally nodded.

“How are we going to track them down?” Katara questioned once the rescue party had recovered from the mad dash through phaser fire and the sudden bursting through the Borg Cube’s hull. Thankfully, the ship’s impressive shielding, and inertia dampeners along with Pixel’s usage of Protect meant no one had anything greater than some scrapes and bruises that Tendi and Katara quickly treated.

“I can sniff them out,” Laura replied as she popped open a door on the ice cream shop level. The rescue team readied their weapons while Tendi kept Jessica close to her.

“And my plants will react to the closest source of plant energy,” Jessica waved her hand, with a flower bracelet with a compass like needle spinning around.

“Aren’t you the closest source of plant energy?” Gwen Tennyson pointed out. Jessica opened her mouth before looking at the spinning needle. Her shoulders droop.

“Poop.” Gwen slowed down as the group left the storage room and into the hallway. She got in step with Jessica before pointing at some of the other bracelets and crowns Jessica had on.

“Are any of these ones that James made or wore?” Gwen asked kindly. Jessica looked at her confused but pulled off one of the crowns reluctantly. It was the first flower crown James had made for her.

“Yeah this one?” Gwen took the crown and spoke a short spell. Her eyes glowed magenta briefly as a pulse went out.

“Hmm, I was able to get a general direction but his life energy is somewhat muddled, interesting.” Gwen waved her arm and started leading the group in the general direction of the center of the cube.

“Anyone noticed something strange?” Alex asked as she poked her head in an empty alcove. She left on not seeing anything other than a few pipes and glowing green circuits.

“Yeah…” Laura enunciated as she sniffed the air a little. “Where are all the drones? We haven’t encountered anyone, no workers, no guards, or victims.” They passed through a hole in the wall that looked like it was partially melted at the edges; there had been a collapsed hallway blocking their way.

“Maybe they’re all on the planet?” Katara suggested as the group entered a room with a deep chasm in the middle and a walkway around. All along the walkway and on dozens of levels above and below were drones in regenerating alcoves. “I had to open my big mouth.”

“There must be hundreds of them,” Kyoka took a step back as she stared at the rows of sleeping drones. The group started to back away except for Tendi. Tendi squinted her eyes as she spotted something.