Reading the PADD’s information for the hundredth time, Jaso squinted hard. He had gone nearly cross-eyed trying to decipher the instructions for the Borg scrubbing program. Jaso asked for a meeting with Deputy Director Montgomery, telling Ensign Parker it was regarding his physical results. It was an innocuous enough reason to cover for Jaso’s inability to effectively lie. He pressed the door chime.

Montgomery stood in the middle of her office with two holo screens displaying the various pieces of the Borg scrubbing program. She had often worshiped at the altar of Dr. Crusher, and that love had never faded. Now as she examined the overview and details, she was understanding how insidious the plan had been for the Borg and the Changelings to join forces. She was also learning as she read, making notes of various concepts to research on her own later. Parker had let her know the engineering portion of the team had asked to see her, and the chime signaled that he had arrived. Cassidy called out for him to enter as she returned her eyes to the two screens. She greeted him, tapping at her PADD. “Welcome to the greatest and most confusing project of your entire life, Lieutenant Erdian.”

“It’s certainly turning into one, ma’am,” Jaso replied. “It’s like the proverbial onion, the more layers I peel back, the more there are. And the more fetid it becomes.” He paused, “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me.”

The Deputy Director added a third holo screen to the mix, “Since you asked as a part of my official communication channels, your physical results came back average. You should add some fruit and veg to your diet…and get some exercise in while you’re at it.” She handed him a PADD with one hand while scrolling through a holo screen with the other, “You’ll probably live a very long time, the Borg and Changeling situation now in the rearview.”

Jaso was taken aback by the assessment. “Thank you for that, I’ve been busy with the transfer from the Altai. Does running for one’s life from mechanical spiders count as exercise?” He looked at his PADD and quickly added, “I wanted to collaborate with you on the project, but didn’t want to cause suspicion. I still don’t know who I can trust outside of the meeting attendees.” With a few button presses, he projected his PADD on the third holo screen. “The concept of what we’re trying to do is simple enough. During the rematerialization cycle, the transporter will deny the Borg DNA from exiting through the pattern buffer. The system then considers it a foreign microbe, which it is, and destroys it through the bio-filter.”

He changed the display to a human genome with a few button taps, “The problem lies in complete eradication. As you can see here and here,” he pointed to the display in turn, “the Borg DNA changes its designation during dematerialization, a testament to their adaptability.” He sighed, “And this model is only relevant to humans, there’s no telling how it will adapt to Trill, Bolian, or Vulcan genomes.” He closed the model, “That’s where I need your help Doctor. I need a way to break the latent Borg DNA so the bio-filter can destroy it.” He paused, “I also need a place to work on the transporter component that’s quiet. Do you know of any?”

Cass agreed with his concerns. The Borg had always been wily and adaptable – it was one of their more terrifying elements, especially when they wanted to swallow you whole into their hive mind. As destroyed as the Bog Queen and her facility were…there were worry and whispers of how someone might take control of this now leaderless mass. Which is why they now had to work as quickly as they could to handle the situation. She stepped to the other holo screen and ran through a few possibles until she smiled, “There’s an office down the hall – hasn’t been used in a while. Was supposed to be another deputy director or something. Then everything went sideways, and it’s just me.”

Jaso nodded, “I think that will do nicely.” He tapped buttons on his PADD. “I’m putting in a maintenance request. That should keep people out of the area.”

Cassie moved on, “We’ve also got to sort out what to do with our Cadet.” She thought for a moment, “You send her a message – it’d come better from you than me.” She tapped out a list, “Send her through these scans. I’ll code it all under a primary physical for appearance’s sake but I’ll have the results routed to you and me only.”

Taking the PADD, Jaso looked through the list. He didn’t know what half the scans on the list were. “I’ll set things up in the office and send for her. If you need anything, feel free to visit.”