“Five minutes to intercept.  The planet operations center reports half the population in emergency shelters, while the other half is on their way.”  Ensign Oscar Reede spoke with a faux confidence as the reports sputtered in his earpiece.  Inside, there was a windy storm of doubt and fear increasing in intensity with each minute that passed.  Another planet had detected the Borg Sphere, and the Mackenzie had been close enough this time.  Close enough, Reede reminded himself, didn’t count for much right now.  What would they do if the Sphere decided to attack the planet and assimilate everything in sight?  He wished for something else to face.  A space whale, a planet monster, or something…anything else but the Borg.

Captain Wren Walton stood in the middle of the bridge, aware of the renewed fear coursing through the command center and into the rest of the ship.  They had been in another review meeting looking at the readings when the call had come.  She walked to stand behind her Security Chief, “Let’s start the process of deploying our boarding defense teams.”  Seraphina Pearce tapped at the console with a nod.  She’d taken on most of the new crew from Bravo.  She’d kept her complaints to herself, but Wren had sat her down early and asked her to vent.  Wren had to credit the Lieutenant – her language creation skills had been exceptional.

Commander Park sat at the operations station, her hair tightly wound, echoing her internal weather, “All departments report secure from Red Alert.”  She’d taken on the role as they had not replaced the former operations chief.  Another tap of her console, “Three minutes to intercept.”

Thasaz was hunched over her science console, “The Borg Sphere is four minutes from the planet.”  She muttered, “But they always find a way to speed things up.”  The ruby lights filtered across the stations as each officer and crewman focused steadfastly on their duties.  Whatever came next, however it happened…the need to be ready outweighed any daydreaming or imagining beyond what lay in front of them.

The rest of the Mackenzie stood at stations, waiting and listening.  Those off duty had reported to their muster stations; there was no need for coffee.  The impending meeting with the Borg was keeping their tired eyes wide open.  The new ensigns and crewmen milled about their stations, their wells of worry and anxiety filling with each passing minute.

From the helm, Ensign Gabriela Castillo stared at the stars swarming by on the viewscreen.  She called out, “Thirty seconds to intercept.”  At stations on the bridge and across the Excelsior II class, postures went rigid, and those final words of encouragement were whispered, said, and prayed.  Captain Walton shifted her feet, her fingers softly rubbing together as the clock above the screen clicked forward. Castillo tapped at her console, wishing they could fly home.  “Arriving.”  The stars slowed, and a pastoral planet appeared in the distance, growing larger as the Chief Flight Control Officer steered them near.

“Borg Sphere caught up to us…arriving now.”  Thasaz went to work while at tactical; Kondo kept his hands off his console.  Any perception by the Borg of what they were doing could signal their definite doom.

Walton remained standing as she advised the bridge crew, “Steady…steady.”

Thasaz reported, “Sphere is entering the system…scanning has begun. I’ve got our sensors tuned in to listen.  Permission to scan it?”  She turned in her chair, looking at her new captain.  They had debated her question for several hours, and neither had come to a satisfactory conclusion.  The risk and the reward were unknown.

Walton stared at the Sphere as it moved lazily through the system.  “Have they scanned us?”

“Not beyond their passive systems.”  Thasaz turned as her console sang a bitter tune, “They are starting the scan of the planet.  No sign they’ve taken notice of us.”

“They’ve seen us…they just don’t view us as a threat or worth the trouble.”  Wren wanted to hold her breath and wish the Borg away.  She wished the magical stories she’d read as a child could be a reality, and she’d cast them into the darkest depths.

“Captain…?”  Thasaz wasn’t taking her avoidance for an answer.

She sighed, “What the hell. Start your scans.  Helm – plot an escape course and be ready to engage.”  Wren still didn’t return to her chair while Castillo followed her orders and answered that it was ready.

“The planet is hailing us, Captain,” Oscar felt his nerves tighten as if walking on a tightrope high above the planet.  So much of their immediate future depended on what the Borg saw them doing and if they would respond.

Walton mused, “I’m guessing they’re having a little panic like we are.  Thasaz?”

“They’ve just completed their scan.  They’re not moving.”  She felt her heart start to spin.  Every pair of eyes stared at the viewscreen where the ominous and glittering Sphere stared back, silent in its repose.

“Goddamn Borg.  Let’s try and share our feelings with the planet.  Reede.”

The screen changed to the face of the communications director in a massive facility, his eyes wide, sweat dripping, “Captain Walton…why aren’t they leaving?  They should have gone by now.”  The others in the background were working on their consoles and shouting into their headsets.

“If I could tell them to leave…or go to their room…I’d have done it.  We’re going to have to wait.”

The man’s eyes widened in desperation, “You can run if they attack, Captain…we cannot.  Our waiting is different than yours.  We don’t wish to be ripped apart to serve a collective.”  He held up a device, “We’ve agreed to self-destruct if they attempt to attack.”  He leaned into the camera, “You hear me, Borg!?  We would rather die than serve your masters.”  The channel cut as the man walked away.

Thasaz was in shock, “What the hell just happened?  They’ve got a…”

Kondo’s hands remained off his console, “Knowing what we know about assimilation…and what it does to you…it is hard to argue with them.  Living out here in the wilderness of the Delta Quadrant…I can’t imagine.”

Walton now wanted to sit down and process.  There wasn’t time as she grumbled, “I’m starting to understand why you all hate this place so much.  Reede, can you get him back?”  The chief communications officer attempted several times, shaking his head at each failed try.  “Thasaz, please tell me they’re leaving.”  The longer the Sphere sat there, the more twisted her stomach became.

“Readings are showing nothing of note.  Normal power operations.  No communication…she’s just sitting there.  Perhaps they found…,”  Suddenly, the Sphere shifted forward and then jumped to warp.  The Romulan Science chief sighed, “…and like that…they’re gone.”

The rest of the bridge crew relaxed, an audible sigh cascading across the command center.  Reede alerted the captain, “We’ve got the planet back.”

Wren waved the channel open and headed for the center chair, sitting in relief as she addressed the man on the screen, “You really have a self-destruct system down there?”

The man wiped his face as he chuckled dryly, “Captain Walton…if you spent more than a month out here at a time…you’d know eventually the system will have to be tested…or heavens forbid used.  We won’t be taken alive against our will for someone else’s purpose.  If it’s not the Borg…it’s someone else.  It’s kept most of them away from us.”

Park turned from her science station, “You know the Borg won’t care like the others do.  They are relentless.”

“This is the only time they’ve come this close – we must not have been interesting to them.  You may not understand our ways, Captain…but they are ours.  Not yours.”  The channel closed.

Walton didn’t know what to say at the moment.  Thasaz saved her with a worried look as she reported, “We’ve got more data from the other scans and this one.  We need to speak with Cardamon.  The computer flagged the Voth as a possible match.”