By: Gladiator

USS Voyager drifted through fluidic space unaware its presence was being monitored by a very unique life form.  Unhindered, they prepared to board the powerless Federation ship……….

  Captain Janeway stood poised next to science officer Tuvok’s station demanding answers.  Immediately after Voyager entered the anomaly, the warp engines shut down, and most of the ship's power systems were offline.  The main viewscreen was also dark, and now sensors seemed to be malfunctioning.  Readings were off the normal scale, much like a compass needle going haywire.

  “Engineering….  B'elanna, how long until you can get the warp core back online?”

  “Captain, I’m not sure we even can.”  “It’s almost as if the entire subroutine in the computer core has been erased somehow.”

  “Red Alert!  All decks, be advised we might have an intruder aboard.”

  Janeway raised her arm, holding a finger up.  “Tuvok, run a level 1 diagnostic.  I want to rule out any form of virus.”

  “Captain.”

  It was the voluptuous 7 of 9.

  “I believe I know what might be the source of our system malfunctions.”

  “Go on Seven.” Janeway crossed the bridge to where Seven was looking straight ahead with unblinking eyes.

  “My Borg implants have just been activated, and memory links are also being accessed.

  “Harry, are you picking up anything on our sensors?”

  “Negative, or at least, not from what I can tell.  We may get a more accurate reading if we can tie in the sensors aboard the Delta Flyer to Voyager…there.  The data can now be directly tied into our computer.

  “Tom!” Janeway looked to Paris.  “Get down to the hanger and fly a course in front of us…act as our eyes.”

  “Yes maa’m…”

  Paris bolted from his helm seat, and within minutes the shuttle was spaceborne.

  “I’m afraid you’re not going to like this Captain,” Tom’s voice echoed over the comm-link and an image began to shimmer on the bridge’s main viewscreen.

  They were inside another ship!  A massive ship. 

  Data was flowing from the Delta flyers sensors to secondary consoles aboard Voyager.

  “I’m detecting a massive tachyon field over both ships Captain.” Tuvok's eyes never left his stations sensors, and his fingers continued to dance across controls gathering information.

  Janeway's stare was glued to the viewscreen - uncountable ships and machines moved about, their patterns traceable by the lights upon them - much like the activity of a big city - viewed at night from a high tower window, or during transport on a shuttle flight through the viewport.

  Without warning, 3 borglike entities materialized on he bridge.

  7 stepped forth to greet them.

  Before Janeway could call security to the bridge, 7 turned around to reassure her fears.

  “These are not true Borg Captain as we know them.”

  One of the drone intruders in a digital, artificial voice stepped forth and spoke.

  “You are the Creator.”

  “Seven?” Janeway whispered.

  “They are not a threat as of yet Captain - they see us as a ‘mother’.  Abandoned long ago by a Voyager.  They have found us.  It is the reason for our inability to reinitialize our warp drive.  They don’t wish to loose us again.  These Borg are not part of a collective mind only.  They have the ability of individual thought, much like myself, but they also contain a universal link to each other.

  Tuvok seemed to grasp 7’s notions, and added an explanation.  “As you may recall from Starfleet History, Captain James T. Kirk encountered V’ger, an early Earth spacecraft of the Voyager missions, originally built specifically as an exploration vessel.  Somewhere out in space the sensor probe gained intelligence and became self-aware.  It would appear that these Borganites think our Voyager is now again that probe.”

  “There’s one thing that doesn’t make sense…From what I recall…” Janeway paused…”A branch of the Borg collective found V’ger…these Borg seem to have been ‘assimilated’ for lack of a better term, by V’ger.”

  “It is a parody I cannot fully explain at this time Captain, however, I believe we may be experiencing the after effects of a temporal space/time phenomenon.  For the past few nights now I have been having very peculiar dreams - Dreams revolving around my first duty assignment aboard USS Excelsior.................We had encountered an anomaly, or some sort of temporal distortion which as I try to recall certain events, only lead to lapsed memories, and periods of missing time.  Something is happening which I cannot wholly explain.  It is purely hypothetical, but entirely possible that I am recalling the extraordinary events and memories of real significance on some spectral form of wavelength or divination.”

  Tuvok's voice seemed to drop to a cold indiscernible tone, and his face was absolutely expressionless. 

  “Captain Sulu and I are enduring unknown, unnamable horrors of unspeakable conception....................Past the skewed infinite gulfs beyond the otherside of time and space there are gateways to incomprehensible geometry into unimaginable realms and Dreams of Terror and Death...Shadows of the mind about which the Mad Arab has meticulously written.”

  Tuvok returned from his bleak stare to look at the Visitors and then to Janeway.

  The Borg entities stood, unrevealing during the ironic bout of Vulcan madness, and Janeway thought they comprehended the blasphemous ramblings, even aiding in the boisterous outburst.  Then it was clear in her mind, everyone’s mind.  The Borg beings were in communion with each other, but rather than through a hive mind or so called collective, they seemed to use telepathy.

  “I can only speculate one cause to this whole predicament...The Parallel Universe Theory,” Tuvok had returned to his normal, casual voice, seemingly unaware of his glimpse seconds ago into unseen vistas of illusion that were the netherworld of Azathoth.