Welcome aBorg, part 1

Posted on Tue May 19th, 2026 @ 12:24pm by Commander Rin & Cadet Sophomore Grade Melan Aris & Civilian Two of Eight & Cadet Sophomore Grade Gracelyn Shepard & Cadet Sophomore Grade Marmaduke Marshal & Cadet Freshman Grade Selenoa Ravari & Lieutenant JG Calista Haelant & Cadet Senior Grade Triston Montgomery [Lalor] & Cadet Junior Grade Elaria Carlyle

Mission: Interlude
Location: Elysium / Shuttle
1890 words - 3.8 OF Standard Post Measure

Phoenix stared at the message on her screen and then took a breath. Then another. And another after that. She hit her comm. "Captain Taylor to Shuttle bay 1, Commanders Reece, Rin and Sthilg to Shuttle bay 1. Security to Shuttlebay 1."Based on the trajectory they now had under an hour to prepare.
She walked out of her ready room, briskly. A pace none had really ever seen from the Commodore unless there was an emergency.

Rin had still been with Sthilg when Avalon announced the priority message for her. She had taken it privately. And now she just stared at it.

At least Nicholas was with them. He was capable, and he possibly knew more about Rin than anyone else on board.

"Dr Sthilg, I need you to see this. The cadets are inbound with... a drone. A...really old one." She had a dozen questions about that fact alone, but she wasn't going to get answers until the runabout arrived.

Her next words were quiet, determined, and resolute. "I would appreciate you joining me in the shuttlebay. We're going to need every bit of biological information you can determine."

So I can decide whether to blow this thing out an airlock, she silently added.

=SHUTTLEBAY 1=

Phoenix was the first to arrive, she didn't mind but she knew they needed to prepare.

Rin arrived shortly afterward, her manner the coldest and most reserved that anyone on Elysium had seen her. The casual gait she had developed in the last year was gone. Her face was expressionless. She came to stand next to Phoenix, stick straight, hands behind her back, staring at the opening of the bay to space.

She had never encountered a drone since she had escaped the Collective. She had never helped one escape, other than those who had escaped with her. She wanted to help it, but there were so many variables, all of which were running through her head at a million miles an hour.

Sthilg heard the message pushing as it entered his ears. At least they'd found out what Rin had been detecting. Sending a message to his staff to prepare an isolation ward, the gorn gathered his tools and headed for the shuttle bay.

The door leading out to the corridor slid open again, allowing Kyle, and three of his security team, to enter the shuttlebay. While the three junior security officers were armed with phaser rifles, Kyle carried an electromagnetic rifle, or as it was colloquially known as, a rail gun. History had shown that, while the Borg could adapt and erect forcefields against phaser blasts, projectile weapons seemed to get past their defenses. And. As he still carried the physical scars of the last time he fought the Borg, when he was a newly minted junior lieutenant, he was not about to take any chances with this drone.

Gary entered saw Kyle and his team already there as was Phoenix. "By the book Kyle. Take no chances with our 'guest' he instructed. He looked to Rin, "Thoughts Rin?"

"I'm trying to figure out how it's even survived," Rin said matter-of-factly. "Parts break down. Systems need maintenance and replacement. This thing is an antique. On the plus side, our weapons will probably harm it. It has no knowledge of our technology. It may not even have the ability to adapt to it. Imagine installing a modern operating system into Zephram Cochrane's ship. The hardware simply isn't compatible."

"My concern is its mental state. It's been separated from the Collective for 80 years and it still wishes to reconnect. 80 years of silence and it still has no sense of individuality. I don't know if we *can* convince it otherwise. It's had 80 years to dwell on the matter, and it's still rooting for Team Collective. If it decides we are preferable to sitting alone in an abandoned station, that does not mean it won't rejoin the Collective first chance it gets."

"To that end, I suggest we immediately work toward securing its ability to assimilate. That will considerably mitigate its threat level. But we're going to face a whole lot of ethical questions. If a unit does not see itself as anything more than an extension of the Collective, is that a person or an object? That's a tricky line, and I believe there *is* a line. At some point, a drone is an object. Most clearly when it is connected to the Collective, which this one is not. But it's a thing that will need to be addressed."

Phoenix nodded. "Commander Reece, you and Commander Rin are to make sure it is secure and with medical's help, I want no chance that stray nanites can infect our systems or our people."

Kyle nodded in understanding. "Understood, Ma'am. My team and I will be ready for any danger."

"Yes, ma'am," Rin replied. "I recommend we immediately separate the drone from the cadets and officers. Medical can see to our people some distance from the drone, limit casualties if this goes badly."

Rin's brain was coming up with scenarios faster than she could formulate answers. What *was* her criteria on how it should be treated? She was starting to feel sympathetic for the thing, which was exactly what she warns people against. People start thinking of a drone as something to rescue, and you end up with a bunch of dead or assimilated well-meaning people. You don't cozy up to a toaster, and you definitely shouldn't give it a bath.

Which was possibly the weirdest comparison she had ever thought up, but she'd analyze that on another day.

She thought through what got her through her early days. Unfortunately, the ultimate answer was "a Collective of other recently disconnected drones."

"Avalon, cancel all of my security authorizations, accesses and clearances. Disengage my neural connections with all Elysium computer systems and run protocol Rin-1-C."

Rin looked to the officers present. "Theoretically, the connection I have with Avalon shouldn't be exploitable by something attacking either system. But I believe in redundancies. The CO or XO will need to authorize any reconnection when this is over."

The AI appeared, studied Rin and then inclined its head. "Very well Commander., Access Revoked,"



=Shuttle - an hour later=

Calista was watching the timer as the shuttle came out of warp. "Everyone if you look out your window you will see the Elysium off the starboard bow." She brought the shuttle around and lined up with the main shuttlebay.

[Shuttle Asphodel. Maintain course. Security and the Command team are waiting] the comm crackled with the information. [Once you land, remain inside until ordered]

Oh yes that sounded perfectly wonderful. Calista rolled her eyes and brought the shuttle into land.

"Yup, quarantine for everyone, assuming we get out of this," Aris muttered to Miran.

The Erisian nodded in agreement. "Yes. Its gonna be fun."

Marmaduke overhears Aris' comment. "If it gets me out of tomorrow's astrogation test, I will consider it a win," he quietly says with a smile.

"They will make you take in Quarantine" Elaria said from her seat.

"Everyone knows protocols. We all quarantine, whether we like it or not. Gotta make sure we don't bring back something that could cause any shipborne illnesses. I've heard some pretty nasty horror stories before about people bringing stuff on cause they didn't want to go through the quarantine like everyone else," Mathias said as he looked around at everyone.

Gérard nodded in agreement. "I'm sure we are going to be quarantined for both visiting that station, and to ensure we..." he glanced nervously at the drone, then continued in a whisper, "...aren't assimilated."

Miran closed her eyes. "The last time my sister faced a full borg... it was not a fun day." She muttered as she leaned back against the wall.

"I do not think we need worry about assimilation," said Marmaduke, studying the Borg, "it seems quite alone. I can only imagine it must be quite distressing to be cut off from the Consensus. Something like solitary confinement but infinitely worse. I hope that the individual who comprises that drone will be able to find their way back."

A small smile crept onto Arthur's face at Marmaduke's words. "She's not wrong." He said, gesturing to Elaria. "They won't let a small thing like a Quarantine stop you from taking a test." He chuckled softly before looking back down at his tri-corder, scanning through the data, despite having already looked it over about 5 times. His eyes flickered over to the Borg at Marmaduke's words, and he bit his lip nervously, closing the tri-corder. "Do we know how long it's been alone for?" He asked softly. "Do you think they'll ever be able to find their way back?"

"It told us 83 years," Aris answered. Marmaduke's question did trigger one of her own. Why *hadn't* it assimilated them? Isn't that what a lone Borg would do? It had stated it had no reason to harm them, but why address the issue in the first place? Assimilation would have made the issue moot. Did it think itself vulnerable? She kept her thoughts to herself. No way she was going to suggest the plus sides of assimilation in front of the drone, giving it ideas.

"83 years? But it talked to you?" asked Marmaduke. "What else did it say?"

"Said it wouldn't harm us, but, given the opportunity, it would rejoin the Collective because that it what it is," Aris replied. "Sounds like the Cube ended up in this galaxy, but everything died except this drone. Its captors took it from the dead Cube. Oh, and it knows Commander Rin is nearby. So, that's gonna be a hell of a reunion."

Aris looked over to the drone. "Did I miss anything?"

Mathias said, "80 plus years is a LONG dang time for a Borg to be disconnected from the hive mind. Makes me wonder how our new....friend managed it for so long?"

Two of Eight turned its head to Mathias "We survived because they kept us alive, they refused to shut us down, why we do not know," it informed Mathias.

Two of Eight resumed processing what was going on around it, listening to what was being said, quarantine had often been mentioned by those that captured it. Commander Rin was the other xB clearly, which explained a lot, as Two of Eight could detect her nearby.

Marmaduke got up and walked over to the drone. "Hello, I am Cadet Maraduke Marshal. Normally, I would offer to shake hands, but that is not really possible at the moment," he said politely. "Would it be possible to learn your name?"

"We are Two of Eight," Two of Eight replied to the Cadet's question.

"A pleasure to meet you, Two of Eight," said Marmaduke. "I hope you will find the Elysium welcoming."

In the background, Sele quietly studied the drone. She reviewed her findings from the station they left after rescuing it. It named themselves Two of Eight. Eight of what? The intel cadet thought to herself as her Vulcan ears wiggled under duress. Tapping her PADD, she studied the new data she requested from the Starfleet archives. Stuff about the Borg, what they were like and why people feared them. Instead of fearing the newcomer, Sele looked at them with bright curiosity and awe, despite her naivety,