Chin'toka Mission 03: "Enemy of my Enemy"

The Chin'toka went right from the Prime Defective mission to patrolling the Beloti sector according to Starfleet orders. While on patrol, a Borg transmission signal was detected, and as Starfleet standing orders are to investigate any Borg signal, Captain Yvette ordered the Chin'toka to the Mericor system. Upon approach to the Mericor system, the ship detected a Borg recording warning them away, however this was not sufficient proof for Yvette to believe that the Borg were actually present. The Chin'toka entered the Mericor system, and soon detected a Borg probe with several hundred drones approaching their location.

Before the Chin'toka could flee, the probe transwarped to the ship's position, and hailed the ship. At first the crew didn't realize it, but the probe immediately too over the Chin'toka's computer functions. The probe video hailed revealed LCdr Brodie Codey's parents - both assimilated - who ordered the Chin'toka to approach a planet in the Mericor system. Since the drones were not threatening assimilation, as is typical, and they were acting more individual than Yvette had encountered, the Captain ordered the Chin'toka to comply.

Of course, once the ship arrived at Mericor, the Borg then threatened assimilation and began transporting drones on board. They transported 18 crew members off the ship, including Codey and Adune. The 18 crew members were quickly assimilated, along with Engineer Feyil on board, but they stopped attacking once Yvette began to try to negotiate. The drones claimed that they were only assimilating the Chin'toka crew because they wanted to be completely isolated. The negotiations were failing and the assimilation of the Chin'toka was imminent until the Krynar entered the system.

Neither the Chin'toka nor the Borg - who only had their probe and a planet-bound unimatrix - were equipped to defeat the Krynar, but the collective determined quickly that together the Starfleet ship and Borg drones could win. An uneasy compromise was reached where ten additional crew members would be assimilated along with the Chin'toka ship herself. There wasn't time to ask permission from the crew to assimilate some of them, and thus Yvette made the executive decision to allow the Borg to assimilate the 10 they had chosen - and to use the 18 who had already been assimilated - as long as they were all returned at the end of the battle and the Chin'toka was unassimilated.

The Borg agreed, and very quickly crew members and the Chin'toka were assimilated, including Redding and Fiore. The battle with the Krynar began with the Borg probe attacking and getting destroyed, and then the Chin'toka came in as a second wave. The Chin'toka was nearly destroyed, and was beat up quite badly, but as the Borg pre-determined, they were able to chase away the Krynar.

The Chin'toka was quite beat up from the battle, but as they had agreed the Borg brought it back to function, though not complete repair. Of the 29 crew members assimilated, several died and 8 were retained by the Borg. Captain Yvette attempted to protest this, but it was that or the Chin'toka would not have been repaired and would thus have been unable to return to Starbase. The other crew members who were returned were dropped from the collective suddenly, and Sickbay was left to remove their Borg augments.

The mental and emotion toll of the mission was much hire than the death and casualty toll. The assimilated crew members did not take lightly to Yvette sending them to the Borg, even though they survived the mission along with most of the crew. The death list was actually relatively low, but even so Yvette was brought under investigation for her decisions. The Captain herself suffered several emotional trauma from the incident and proceeded to take a leave of absence from Starfleet because of it.

Captain's Logs

Capt Aloysia Yvette

Stardate 21211.27

Captain’s Log Stardate 21211.27. Captain Aloysia Yvette recording –

The Chin’toka did not make it to Starbase Delta afterall. We were sent to patrol the Beloti sector – a job more boring than the pulsar mission we were given originally. However, after a few days the patrol got a little more exciting: we detected a signal coming out of the Mericor system that indicated possible Borg activity. This was quite alarming considering it has been believed that the Borg were wiped out during the last war. However, Starfleet is very careful, and they have established standing orders to investigate any possible Borg activity in order to get warning back to the Federation.

The journey to the Mericor system will take 2 days. I have already ordered the senior staff to research as much as they can on the Borg and to run drills for a possible encounter. I have also selected Lieutenant Commander Brodie Codey as my acting First Officer since Commander Latro is still on medical leave. I was responsible for command-training Codey, and I trust he is up to the challenge.

One interested development is that Codey’s parents were lost near the Mericor system when the SS Potts – a research vessel – went missing. The thought that they were assimilated has crossed both our minds, but it could simply be a coincidence. I am hoping that this Borg signal turns out to be false and thus we have nothing to worry about. We will prepare for the worst, however.

End log.

Stardate 21221.12

Captain’s Log, Stardate 21221.12. Captain Aloysia Yvette recording,

My wish that the Borg signal was false did not come true. We entered the Mericor system and after only a few moments a Borg probe manned with 218 drones appeared from behind Mericor V. They scanned the Chin’toka, and then promptly took over our computer systems. The Borg took over our communications systems, opening a channel with two Borg that were obviously Codey’s parents. They seemed uncharacteristically harmless at first, only asking for us to enter orbit above Mericor V. They also spoke with only two voices, and then eventually only one, with Codey’s mother being the main voice. This was all part of their trap to lure us in.

Once we reached orbit of the planet, the female Borg forcefully contacted us again and informed us that we had breached their isolation and for the good of the collective and our societies. We were to be assimilated so that we wouldn’t reveal the Borg position. Since their way of speaking was still odd compared to what we have been taught about the Borg, I attempted to reason with them, explaining that we had already informed Starfleet of the Borg signal and that if the Chin’toka went missing there would be a lot more ships sent to find them. They didn’t listen to my logic, saying that assimilation or destruction was the only way.

The Borg took an even more aggressive stance at that point, locking the Chin’toka in a tractor beam, transporting drones aboard, and transporting away 18 people, including three Bridge officers: Codey, Adune, and a science officer whose name I currently can’t recall. We are in the process of fighting back and attempting to secure the ship before we attempt to get our people back.

All this time I have been under the impression that the Borg have a cube ship somewhere, but now I am second guessing that. I have science analyzing the ship wreckage we found on the planet to estimate how many drones they actually have. We may be able to fight out way out of this if there isn’t a cube involved.

End log.

Stardate 21301.03

Captain's Log Stardate 21301.03. Captain Aloysia Yvette recording:

Our negotiations with the Borg have been touch and go. At first they would not listen to us and insisted on assimilating the Chin'toka crew and destroying the ship. The Borg colony's main goal does not seem to be assimilation, as the previous collectives we've encountered profess, but rather complete isolation. I tried to convince them that assimilating the Chin'toka would only lead to more Starfleet ships investigating, but they would not listen.

The 18 crew members that were taken from the ship have all been assimilated, along with several others on board after drones were transported to the Chin'toka. The drones only appear to assimilate when attacked, however, which is another oddity. They appear to want to assimilate us on the surface rather than on the ship.

We were about to be defeated with little to do but fight until we were overcome when the Krynar entered the Mericor system. Apparently the Borg are also unaware of how to defeat the Krynar as they quickly turned to negotiating with us rather than demanding our surrender. They transported Codey and Adune to the the Bridge - or rather the assimilated drones that were Codey and Adune. The Codey-drone asked us to peaceably give the ship over for assimilation and to give 8 additional drones besides the 18 that have already been assimilated. They said that with the Chin'toka under Borg control plus select crew members with expertise we would have a 60% chance of beating the Kynar. Without the Borg, we would have less than 1% chance. The Borg also agreed to allow us to have the Chin'toka and our assimilated people back, though we would have to unassimilate our people ourselves. I could see no alternative to this plan: it was either become part of the Borg collective, get destroyed by the Krynar, or give in to this compromise. I chose to give in to this compromise.

End log.

Stardate 21301.28

Captain’s Log, Stardate 21301.28. Captain Aloysia Yvette recording –

The transition to having the Borg on my ship did not go very smoothly, though when you consider how bad it could have been I think it was okay. We had some resistance from the people who were assimilated, of course, with the most dramatic that I witnessed being the severe protests of Lieutenant Fiore. I have a feeling that the 29 crew members who were made Borg temporarily are going to have a serious problem with me, not to mention the other crew members who disagree with my decision. Unfortunately, I expect a lot of transfers off of the Chin’toka, and I will not blame them for leaving my command.

Another bump was the fact that the Borg decided to transport everyone who was non-essential and not assimilated off of the Chin’toka, including the children and their care-givers. I do not remember this being part of the original deal, though I can hardly attempt to get the Borg to change their mind now. I am worried about the psychological effect on the children even more than the assimilated adults. Of course I’m most worried about my little Eleanor.

The battle with the Krynar has not gone well thus far. The Chin’toka has taken such a beating that if we weren’t allied with the Borg right now, I would be worried that we would never leave this system. However, the Borg’s regenerative technology in the form of the nanobots – or probes as they call them – should be able to get us on our way and I will ensure that they take care of us.

There isn’t much for me to do right now except sit and wait for the battle to be over. We have nearly defeated the Krynar, so that will be very soon. Then another battle will start as we ensure the Borg fix the ship and return all of our crew members. Someone I was not considered non-essential, though, and so here I sit on the Bridge in the Captain’s chair until this encounter is over.

End log.

Stardate 21302.13

Captain's Log, Stardate 21302.13. Captain Aloysia Yvette recording.

We are finally on our way home, though with several scars emotionally, physically, and to the Chin'toka. The Borg honored their promise to repair the ship and return most of the crew, but it took some convincing as they battled with their assimilation instincts. Also, nine of my assimilated crew were not returned to us. The Borg claimed they were to replace the drones we destroyed and that they consented to permanently joining the collective, but on that last I have serious doubts. How can you trust the choice of someone who is already assimilated, who doesn't have an individual voice?

There were four additional crew members who were lost in the battle, bringing our total up to thirteen crew members lost. That is surprisingly low considering our past missions, but I think the emotional toll of this mission is much higher, especially for the remaining fourteen that were assimilated and those down in Sickbay that have to treat them.

The Borg didn’t entirely repair the Chin’toka, but they brought us back to functionality. Once we get home we will need a proper refit and I’m sure that the Engineers will be very exciting to examine the Borg technology left behind, even if it is non-functional.

I’m sure I will face some kind of disciplinary hearing for my decision to allow the assimilation of my ship and crew, but I will stand by my decision all the way. I truly believe there was no other option.

I have decided to give the assimilated crew members as much time off as they need, though it means I am down a First Officer and a Chief Tactical Officer. I have also been avoiding the Bridge myself, preferring to work in the Ready Room. I just can’t stand the looks some of the crew are giving me. Do they not understand I had no choice? That my decision saved their lives?

In any case, I plan to take real time off this shoreleave. Eleanor isn’t sleeping through the night anymore with the nightmares the Borg gave her, though at her age the memories will fade much quicker than mine and the other adults. I can’t wait to see Nick. I just feel like once we’re together as a family again I will feel much better and more normal than I do right now.

End log.

Crew Logs

Acting First Officer

LCdr Brodie Codey

Stardate 21211.26

Brodie sat in his darkened quarters, head in his hands, elbows on the desk and sighed. Looking up, with nothing but starlight to cast weak shadows across the room, and the slowly increasing glare from the Mericor star he flipped open his computer and pressed the log button.

"Acting First Officer's Personal Log - USS Chin'toka Stardate 21211.26 Lieutenant Commander Brodie Codey reporting.

I have been established as Acting First Officer for this voyage of the damned towards the Mericor system, and the spurious Borg transmission that has been received by this vessel. Several things concern me about this once again lacklustre mission to patrol a certain part of space, now developing into a pivotal potential confrontation with another of the Federation's arch nemeses. The first is that this is the exact chunk of space where mum and dad are rumoured to have been lost in - missing presumed dead..."

He spat out the last three words, showing the vitriolic anger in his face from the glow of the console before him.

"The sad thing is I didn't even realise we were here until the Cardassian - Adune - mentioned SS Potts in his brief when we received a transmission that was identified as Borg. That's the rub right there - The Borg - there was no mention of this in the report that came winging its way back to destroy our childhood... I know this is most likely a new development, but a ship came out here and looked for that vessel - there was no debris, no trace, just a cluster of black holes packed close together, slowly devouring each other.

I asked the Captain if I could send a message to Tristan on Vulcan, and although I knew I could it was like I had to ask permission to make it seem ok that I was contacting the idiot. I've just received his reply, which shows that he is obviously fulfilling his wish to become more Vulcanised - he even has the haircut; trying to delete the childhood he had because obviously just like me, it is probably still a bit painful to think about. Anyways, he said 'Brother, I do not understand your concern about our parents. It is illogical to think that they may have been assimilated by the Federation's old foe. A ship went out in search for the SS Potts and returned with a negative result; if the Borg had been present at that location at the time of our parents demise, then it would be logical that the rescue ship would have met the same fate.' Blah blah blah.

He congratulates me on my temporary promotion to Acting First Officer and hopes that my pursuit of this 'new mate and companion' does not cause me to act in a way where emotion clouds judgement, and compromises me. I mean could he be much more of an ***hole? He sent me a picture of him and his chums at a recent bash on Vulcan - I hardly recognise him, its been years...

So, the second thing is the possible confrontation with the Borg that we are about to have on the fringes of Cardassian space."

He leaned in towards the computer, and began speaking a little softer.

"Kuznetsova has spoken of the war, and the terrifying scenes that played out. That woman watched some of her crewmates become assimilated, and is still here to tell the tale. That's Russian brute force over ignorance - not some enlightened logic. It's just now that I'm Acting First Officer I realise that having her within sight was comforting; on the Bridge its different, you tend to know everything that is going on and maybe that makes me slightly more nervous than it should, but that burly Russian isn't there to wrestle with some machine if it decides to come for us. Up there I have to trust that my 'new mate and companion' is going to be able to send a few warning shots through its frontal lobes!"

He rocked back into his chair and laughed, putting his hands behind his head.

"In fact, I know we're going to survive this one, because if anything I know I'm going to enjoy kicking his wannabe Vulcan *** from there to Kimberley! I'm going to miss being in Engineering all the time as well - it looks like Feyil and Phoenix have their work cut out for themselves managing that bunch of grease monkeys!

End log."

He reached forward and pressed the button sending the screen into blackness.

Stardate 21301.04

[2:812 Mericor V Collective Regeneration Cycle Neural Processor Defragment

3:6 > 2:812 -Designation 2:812 given

2:812 > 3:6 -Designation valid -Designation accepted

3:6 > 2:812 -Assimilate crew CA-1375, Species 5618 priority -Begin conversion CA-1375

2:812 > 3:6 -Accepted

Local Unimatrix 01 > 2:812 -Download previous entries on CA-1375

[17:37 > Local Unimatrix 01 -Assimilation initiated: FEYIL, Savar; GATLING, Eric -16:37 terminated by Species 5618 -GATLING, Eric terminated by Species 5008

3:6 > Local Unimatrix 01 -FEYIL, Savar allocated designation 1:812

1:812 > 3:6 -Designation valid -Designation accepted -Awaiting instructions

End download]

2:812 > Local Unimatrix 01 -Download accepted -Download understood

2:812 > 3:6 -Initiating communication CA-1375 -Dialogue opened with YVETTE, Aloysia

2:812 > Local Unimatrix 01 -Relocation to CA-1375 -Transport Initiated -Transport Complete

6:6 > Local Unimatrix 01 >>>URGENT<<< -Species 3505 detected -Species 3505 inbound to Mericor V

3:6 > 2:812 -Cease assimilation protocol of CA-1375 -Assimilate CA-1375 -Assimilate up to 27:812 -Assimilate FIORE, Cristina Species 5618 -Assimilate PHOENIX, Matthew Species 5618 -Assimilate REDDING, Maya Species 1599 -Assimilate KERGE Species 5008 -Assimilate GASS Species 156 -Assimilate T'Nas Species 3259 -Assimilate BRIGHTER, Leon Species 5618 -Assimilate BRYIS, Nica Species 2002

2:812 > Local Unimatrix 01 -YVETTE, Aloysia will comply -Begin transport 300 drones -Understood Borg will encounter Species 3505 -Assimilation of Species 3505 and its technology is paramount

Defragment complete End regenerative cycle]

Stardate 21302.26

Brodie held the PADD in his hands, there was a sheen of sweat that glistened on his palms as he summoned the courage to read the text before bleary eyes.

[USS Chin'toka, CA-1375
First Officer's Personal Log
Stardate: 21303.04

Recording...]

"Acting First Officer's Personal Log, Lieutenant Commander Brodie Codey reporting..."

It went silent for a few seconds.

"As we set out on our mission to survey the Beloti sector, Captain Yvette saw fit to make me Acting First Officer in lieu of Commander Latro, who is still unfit for duty. Before we even reached our destination we detected a Borg signal, a signal that was 10 years old that seemed to have been activated by our presence near to the Mericor system.

The Mericor System... A system close to Cardassian terrirtory, and so it seems a system that held a great and terrible secret.

As we tried to analyse the transmission, it was clear that the signal was old, and possibly automated. As Starfleet directives state - ever since we were introduced to our most deadliest enemy to date - all Borg signals must be investigated and destroyed, or discredited. I wasn't so clear on the role this part of space had played in the Federation, until a ship's name was voiced that sent a cold dread fear right to my core.

SS Potts... It was the way Adune - that crafty Cardassian - put it so eloquently, "the only other ship to be lost here was the SS Potts, from reports here on the Bridge, a science ship that was tasked with studying an unusually large number of quantum singularities in the region." The SS Potts was of course the ship my parents were on when they too went 'missing presumed dead'. I wished that he had never uttered that sentence that is now etched on the inside of my brain for eternity - it sent a deep plummeting chill through my body, and even more so when the Captain continued on our way. It was curiosity that drove me forwards, and protocol that drove her.

On our way to Mericor I managed to contact Tristan to let him know what was happening. He tried to placate the situation of course, telling me that no information other than the confirmed absence of the ship had been revealed, and to assume that just because a Borg signal had been detected in the same region of space would be illogical. How wrong he would find himself to be...

After we made progress to Mericor a Borg ship appeared, and then on the viewscreen were Aaliyah and Alexander Codey - my parents - both assimilated."

The last part had been sobbed as Brodie recalled such images, and feelings from the pit that he'd left them in. There was a clunk as the PADD dropped to the floor and a gentle rush as the air conditioning system at the base of the window moved past the microphone gently. He grabbed his hair in one hand, and balled his other into a fist and began wiping the tears from his cheeks and chin.

"They then... They then... Oh God" he said sniffing loudly, and picking the PADD back up again.

The next time Brodie spoke, it was oddly disconnected, and almost synthetic - a detached prose from the mind of its owner, void of any emotion.

"Yvette pressed the advantage we thought we had, and it turned out that we lost it moments later. Crissy Fiore was awesome in her tactical skills as we engaged a probe ship, and began pounding the surface with everything we had as they attempted to lock on a tractor beam to the ship. It all gets a bit fuzzy from here on in...

All I know is that I was transported to the surface - the ship's log can tell me that much - but Doctor Macleod says what happened afterwards is patchy; it is patchy because I was with the Borg on the planet surface and most likely in front of my parents, so adrenaline was probably coursing its way through every inch of me, and I was in fight or flight mode. Apparently such highly-jacked situations like that cause memory inaccuracies, I dunno.

What I can recall, and this is classed as a testimony under duress, is that I was trying to bargain with my Mother, who was the leader of the Collective. I believe I was unsuccessful, or that is what is pretty much the case, as I was at some point on the planet surface assimilated. I'm afraid huge gaps now start to appear in my memory, I can only remember snippets of stuff, and even then I am advised that they may not be in the right order. So, I will list them as best as I can.

One. I remember a list. A list that detailed names for assimilation. I am not sure why or how I can remember this, but Crissy's name was on it. There is some dialogue I am sure took place between me and the Collective, establishing who would be best for what jobs - they were interrogating my knowledge of the crew, and checking it against the databases they had access to.

Two. I remember speaking directly with Captain Yvette. I was about to assimilate her under orders from the Collective. All crew on the Chin'toka were to be assimilated. I remember bringing up Yvette's argument that we had made an agreement not to do this, but after that everything goes black and I can recall feeling very naked and alone.

Three. I am aware of transporting to the Chin'toka and seeing the Bridge for the first time as an assimilated being. The shock on some people's faces will stay with me forever I am sure.

Four. How she does it, I do not know, but Kuznetsova's face keeps coming back to me along with warnings and alerts. I do not know why, and I must remember to ask her whether she got up to any trouble.

Five. I wasn't aware at first, but I knew Feyil - my JEngO - had been assimilated, I sort of joined him so I think he was assimilated first. I didn't notice it was him until something just made me realise.

Six. I remember my designation, 2 of 812. I also remember that assimilation did not feel as bad as I thought it would - unlike the Fiore's recollection - my only pain I can remember is when I was cut off from the Collective and their implants turned into solid lumps of razor sharp metal in my body. That was pain, and the loneliness - I can't seem to get past the loneliness that I now feel.

Suffice it to say that we saved the day. Apparently the Krynar got involved and an uneasy alliance was formed between us, and the Borg. It could be the first victory for the Federation against the Krynar, which we still don't really understand. All but eight of the crew were returned and we were all patched up by those miracle workers down in Sickbay. I wasn't as mutilated on the outside as others were, like Crissy, but my insides still ache to high heaven.

I think I've never been close to anyone in particular. Gran was always concerned with her spiritual journey, and Tristan was always concerned with something else. I guess I just kinda got on with whatever it was I was doing - drink, girls, sport etcetera. Being part of the Collective, especially with Mum and Dad - well that's the sad part, I can't really remember anything about them - well I felt like I belonged somewhere. I feel guilty saying it, especially after all Starfleet has done for me, and vice-versa, and Crissy..."

Brodie sighed and thumped his head against the wall.

"It's not for me, it is for them. I want to go back..."

Brodie pressed the button to stop recording and looked beaten, drained, and helpless. His absent gaze looked out beyond the glass back towards Mericor. Guiltily he listened to the silence in his mind, hoping to hear a whisper...

Tactical

CTO LCdr Cristina Fiore

Stardate 21302.26

Chief Tactical Officer's Log. Cristina Fiore recording.

I don't know if I should actually be recording this. As I sit here I'm relieved of duty on psychiatric grounds so technically I'm not CTO. But hey. Wouldn't be the first time I've held a position on this ship in name only.

Don't know how much of this I can talk about. Around 30 minutes ago I put in a formal complaint to Admiral Grayson against Captain Yvette so this mission is likely to come up in proceedings against one of us. Wouldn't surprise me if I end up in front of a disciplinary panel, either as well as or instead of Yvette. Things went that well. But seeing as the whole purpose of these logs is to provide a record of what happened I'll go over the mission anyway.

The Chin'toka was directed out to patrol the Beloti sector. It was supposed to be a cakewalk after our last mission. And then we picked up some strange signals from the Mericor system. They were Borg signals.

So we investigated. Nothing wrong there. Our orders were to check out anything weird and picking up signals from a supposedly dead race definitely qualifies as weird.

When the ship approached Mericor we got a transmission that just said 'depart'. I wish we had. When we pressed on a Borg probe ship appeared from behind Mericor V. It was fully loaded. Over 200 drones, plasma weaponry, transwarp propulsion. It wasn't a sensor glitch, it was an actual honest to God Borg vessel.

It turns out a cube ship crash-landed on Mericor V, and the Borg had salvaged what they could and built a colony on the planet. Perfect hiding place. Magnetic interference and a ****-ton of radiation mean that it's next to impossible to detect anything going on there. Chin'toka only detected EM readings because we were right on top of them. A little further away, we'd have flown right by.

When the Borg made contact it was from this colony. At the time we didn't know how many vessels they had. The interference was so bad there could have been a fleet of cube ships and we'd never have been able to tell. They demanded that we take orbit around Mericor.

The twist was... the drones they used to make contact were Brodie's parents. Sorry, Lieutenant Commander Codey, the FO for this trip. Their ship was lost in this sector and presumed destroyed. Turned out they were assimilated.

I told the Captain we had to run. In a straight fight we could have destroyed the probe ship if it tried to stop us, and then we could have reported back to Starfleet Command. Entering the Mericor system was suicide. The Borg are technologically superior to the Federation. There's no arguing that. Their tech is more advanced and they can take out our computer systems in seconds, and given how reliant our ships are on the computer that's a fatal flaw. We should have run. I should have stuck to my guns and taken us back out of the system myself.

Captain Yvette complied with the Borg's demands and gave the order to take us in. I wanted to challenge her but I didn't. I have to confess I've been in a relationship with Commander Codey for a while. I felt that compromised my decision making to the point where I couldn't try and overrule the CO of the ship. That was wrong too.

When we made orbit the Borg announced they were going to assimilate us. Apparently it was for the protection of the Federation as well as their isolation. They grabbed us with a tractor beam and I opened fire on its source immediately. I let fly with everything but the damn thing was buried too deep in the surface of the planet. They beamed drones over and I took them out, but when they beamed the casualties away they took Brodie, Olmek Adune and several others.

Yvette froze. She just stood there and let it happen. I had to take over so I did. I wanted Brodie and the others back and I wanted us able to get out of there and that was all that was going through my mind. Unfortunately our systems were compromised to a degree we hadn't anticipated and the Borg were already in control. We had nothing but internal comms and a passive sensor feed.

And then the ******* Krynar turned up. As if the Borg weren't bad enough we were suddenly facing a mothership and over 8,000 of the shard vessels.

When they next made contact... They'd assimilated Brodie. He was the mouthpiece. They sent him on board and I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't bring him down because I wasn't seeing a drone, I was seeing him still.

Most of the Krynar left. The mothership was gone and most of the shards went with it but there were still 180-something heading for Mericor. There was some kind of negotiation between the Captain and the collective. I got told to butt out so I was just watching. Yvette agreed to let the Borg assimilate the ship in order to defeat the Krynar on condition they restored it at battle's end. She... she...

[Pause]

She also agreed to hand over 8 more crew for assimilation. They sent a list and she ordered everyone on it not to resist. I was on that list. Captain Yvette handed me and 7 others over to the Borg to do with what they wanted. I tried to fight but they beamed me off the ship and down to Mericor. Three drones pinned me down and... and...

[Pause. There is a barely audible sob away from the recorder, and when she speaks again LCdr Fiore's voice is cracking.]

They assimilated me. They cut my hand off and replaced it with an interface jack, and implanted things in me to better control me. I was top of their target list because they needed me to fly the ship. I'm not gonna talk about being assimilated here. I can't yet. But it is the living Hell I thought it was.

The collective assimilated the Chin'toka. Borg technology was implanted everywhere along with their weapon systems. They beamed everyone else off the ship and down onto Mericor and just left the crew needed. When the ship went into battle the thing they'd turned me into was the pilot and weapons controller. I remember everything, and the flood of data and the way the drone interfaced with the ship was such a rush I... I submitted to it. I let them use me to fly the ship. It still makes me sick now.

The Krynar were destroyed eventually. Along with most of the Chin'toka. The weapons were overcharged to blast through the Krynar armour and they detonated, and that along with the gravitic weapons of the shards tore the ship to pieces. The Borg tried to use that as an excuse to break the deal and assimilate the whole crew but Brodie was able to overrule the collective. He and I both fought against them, we both... I don't know, took ourselves back over, just long enough to make sure they kept the deal.

They put enough of the Chin'toka back together to get rid of us, beamed the crew back aboard and then cut the link with those of us they'd assimilated. They dumped us, still full of nanoprobes and implants and **** knows what else. I'm glad to be a free woman again but it took hours of surgery to put me back into a human. Blood filtration and ops to remove the implants and a whole lot else. I've only got one hand at the moment as the replacement for the one the Borg took is being cloned.

We're en route now to Starbase Delta. Some of the assimilated crew have bounced back quickly and are already back on duty. I'm not one of them. I can't focus, I can't sleep, I can't eat. The very thought of having to work alongside Yvette makes my stomach turn. Assimilation was my idea of Hell and I was put through it.

We should have left the system the moment we encountered the Borg. We should have destroyed the ship rather than allow the Borg to use it to save themselves. And nobody, nobody , has the right to hand over their crew to be turned into automatons to save their own skin. That's why I lodged the formal protest and why I will be putting in a transfer request as soon as I'm judged mentally sound enough to make it.

My career has been my entire life's aim but I'd sooner resign from Starfleet and become a freighter pilot than serve under Yvette again. I know I'm not impartial but I think she's incompetent and spineless. She didn't have the guts to make the calls she had to make, and froze and didn't make any calls once the **** hit the fan. I won't be a part of something that will allow someone like her to command a ship.

Anyway. My opinion of the Captain isn't overly relevant to a mission log but I'm stating it anyway. I've gone on the record already so what's one more time.

Where we go from here I don't know. But it'll be a long time before I can put my trust in superiors again, assuming I still have a Starfleet career.

End recording.

Medical

CMO LCdr Laura Macleod

Stardate 21302.19

Chief Medical Officer's Log
Stardate 21302.19
Lieutenant Commander Laura Macleod recording:

As seems somewhat usual for us, what started out as a routine patrol soon turned into something far more horrifying.

With our First Officer still unfit for duty, Yvette chose Codey to replace him. I think it was the right move, he suits the position well and I know everyone felt good about the choice.

When we had the first indications that there might be Borg out there we naturally went to investigate. Myself and the rest of the medical staff did our best to prepare by going over all of the research in the database regarding nanoprobes and assimilation in general. There was a heightened tension but that is only normal, especially when the Borg are mentioned.

To be honest, I'm not entirely sure of the ins and outs of what happened on the Bridge, I was in Sickbay and before we knew what was happening we were right in the thick of it. I don’t know what would have happened if the Krynar hadn’t turned up but they did and the Borg offered us a temporary alliance to defeat them. They had already gotten the better of us I think, but they needed us somehow too… I’m not sure how that works. Anyway they demanded certain members of our crew and beamed whomever they considered surplus to the planet.

We really didn’t get a chance to do anything but what they demanded and in the end it was enough, the battle was won by our side, most of our crew released and they even fixed the ship for us… we just had to deal with the aftermath, the people they took as slaves, violated and psychologically damaged… I’m angry and I have no one to direct my anger at… though some people have found a direction for theirs and I can see it causing trouble.

It was Captain Yvette's announcement that caused the most contention I think... Aloysia and I have been friends for years now, if she said there was no choice then there was no choice, I know that but... ordering your crew, specific members of your crew, not to resist Assimilation? It still chills me to the bone when I think of it.

Of course we all doubted the wisdom of allying ourselves with the Borg, even to fight the Krynar. Yes it's not the first collaboration the Federation have made but it's the first time the Borg have really honoured it. I heard afterwards that Codey's parents were part of the group, perhaps that had something to do with it if it's true... though they kept some of our crew anyway.

I keep asking myself, would anyone truly choose to be part of the Collective? They said those crew members they kept did, but even if they are to be believed, were our crew really in a position to make the decision? And I can’t help thinking that, if there is any individual who would choose that kind of existence then we failed them as a society long before they joined the hive mind.

I guess I’m not in a great frame of mind right now. I’ve spent our journey back to Starbase Delta putting people back together. Operation after operation… removing technology from their bodies and cloning and attaching replacement parts where possible. I’m glad the Chin’toka has its own Counsellors, my psychic shields are really taking a battering right now, I couldn’t stand that on top.

I feel guilty that I can’t comfort Aloysia in some way as well but… I can’t. I don’t have the energy, or the ability to lie if she asks awkward questions about what people have been saying. At least she’ll be with Nick again soon… All my friends are elsewhere or dealing with their own nightmares except… one, and I don’t know him that well.

I really need to get away for a while.

End Log

Engineering

Ens Savar Feyil

Stardate 21302.26

Personal Log

Ensign Savar Feyil

Stardate 21302.26

I have been having the same dream now for the last few nights. I have spoken with a counsellor about it but there is not much they can do. They say it is the after effects of my Borg assimilation. The doctors have cleared me as medically fit to return to active service, but I don't think I am mentally ready.

Since the end of the mission I have been avoiding contact with most of the crew. I still don't know what truly happened on the last mission. I remember that the Borg had boarded the ship and that they were in Engineering. Things started to happen so fast after that point. I remember seeing one about to attack Kuznetsova and that I picked up something and attacked the Borg. That is where things start to go fuzzy as that was when I was assimilated into the collective. The only clear memory I have is the look on Kuznetsova's face.

Anything after that is just patchy images from my time as a Borg drone. I am not sure if I actively assimilated any of the other crew members. I do know that I never left the ship so was only subject to minimal Borg implantation. I think it is this that has kept me away from the rest of the crew. As I know most of those assimilated had more extensive Borg modifications.

The Chin'toka is awaiting assignment for the next mission and this has given the chance for the crew to get over the last mission. I personally have appointments with a counsellor so that I can discuss what happened on the last mission.

End Log.