A/N: This is it: The final chapter. It is the longest I have ever written but I believe you deserve it. Many things happen and hopefully some things have gotten their fair resolution. Of course there are many things that still need an answer but for that later.

Thank you for the great journey!

Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: The characters of Star Trek belong to Paramount. The characters of the Four Orders are entirely my own. The characters of Stargate belong to MGM but the words are mine.

AU/DS9/TNG/SGC: The war with the Dominion takes a turn for the worse. The sudden cry for help from the Q Continuum diverts the Federation's attention to investigate a mystery buried deep into Earth's past: a secret so dangerous that it divides the Earth in two and reshapes the galaxy.

Chapter 20

Anubis Triumphant

The Borg Queen lost consciousness again after the intense pain that coerced through the back of her neck and through her mouth. The Goa'uld pain sticks proved as effective on her as they did on any other being. The dark lord enjoyed those little sessions ever since he discovered her pain receptors. Her tolerance for pain was also impressive but then again she was a cybernetic life form.

And that was part of the problem Anubis had. Possessing an organic was easy but possessing that, well, this was something different. So far, his Avidans have not found a suitable way for him to interface with her. All simulations so far have shown catastrophic failure – both host and larva die. So he has satisfied himself with torturing her instead, day and night. And the only breaks she got were when she would lose consciousness.

But even torture has begun to lose its charm. No, he needed to torment her in a different way. Of course one of the other reasons he tortured her incessantly was when he discovered that she was no longer the Queen of the Borg. Apparently the Replicators excommunicated her but that was just a minor setback. He would reconnect her to the main hub and when she does he will have absolute control over the Collective and the galaxy will be his.

That left only one problem and that was the SGC forces. He recently heard of the arrival of the Pegasus Alliance's most formidable cities – Storm. It was as he understood the power base of the Pegasus Alliance. That alone made it the perfect target but he was not ready yet to confront them.

And then there was the most recent information discovery. He got his hands on the Federation database, well parts of it anyway. But it contained something that he had missed. And he missed it because at the time he found it amusing. Now however this was vital piece of information and it gave him a curious advantage.

This knowledge provided him with an insight into the politics of the Pegasus Alliance and he was satisfied to learn that the humans have changed so little. Well, the Federation has changed the perspective of the humans but that of the Pegasus Alliance had not changed at all. They were still petty and power hungry.

"Milord," First prime Aken entered and bowed.

"Aken?"

"We have just received word that Voyager has been captured by the Replicators."

"WHAT?" This jolted Anubis out of his growing apathy. His Queen in the hands of these abominations was an unfortunate development.

"Apparently, Voyager bombarded the sacred compound where we left them and then left the system at maximum warp."

"WARP? Why haven't they converted that bloody ship?"

"Our study of the Federation's ship shows that it would not be able to sustain an entry into hyperspace. Though the Federation power grid system is very advanced it was conceived to handle antimatter and not zero point energy. It would have been unwise to use hyperspace technology."

Anubis did not enjoy this news. He was certain that problem could have been overcome but it did not change the fact that his Queen has been captured. It presented indeed a very big problem to his master plan as these abominations would most certainly probe her mind and discover his intentions. True it would take them some time but in the end they will get through.

"Where is Voyager now?"

"They are near the Consulate of Bekir."

"Set a course immediately," Anubis commanded and Aken left bowing down.

"Unfortunate news, I take it?"

Anubis stood up and ignored the sarcastic note in the Borg Queen's comment. So she was awake and daring to mock him. How uncharacteristic of her, Anubis thought. Perhaps she was becoming more of an individual than Borg.

"For an organic sack of nanites, you have some spirit left in you, I see, my dear." Anubis observed coldly.

"Your plans have failed you, Anubis. It tends to happen to all those who are not perfect as the Borg are."

"The Borg, you are far from perfect, my dear." Anubis remarked caustically with growing coldness. "Actually you are the opposite of perfect. You are nothing but failed experiment by your damned creators just as they are the failure of theirs."

"And yet here we are."

"Yes, here you are." Anubis smiled darkly. "You know I was starting to think there is another way to deal with you but I can see now there is only one way to deal with you and it is my original way…"And he plunged the pain stick back at her neck. The Queen winced with the growing pain. "And you know that is the beauty of the Borg, I can do this day and night until I melt all of your neuro-pathways and render you a complete vegetable. And then I will rebuild you in my image…" Anubis cackled diabolically like an old crone.

This time Anubis did not allow her to lose consciousness. He intensified the jolt of the pain stick but kept it nice and short. He plunged it again and again and in different areas of her cybernetic body. The effect was so powerful that the Queen could hold herself no more and she screamed.

At some point, he dethatched her head from her body and touched the spinal cord with the pain stick. That intensified her screams. And he kept it again short. He wanted her awake so she can finally see the depth of her failure and beg for mercy. She did not give him that satisfaction and truly he was not expecting it either. So he continued his assault – the cord, the eyes, the nose, in the mouth, on the tongue, in the ears, on the lobe, on the cheeks, and every inch of her skull.

He then reattached her but barely. He focused his attack on every other part of her body. He knew she would not feel it completely but she would feel it as a distant irritating but growing pain that she can't get rid of.

He rendered her cell void of most gases and filled it in with toxic ones. And he continued with the pain assaults. Her skin began to burn and melt. And then he stopped leaving her nanites the time to repair the damage. And then he began all over again….

The forces of the SGC dropped out of hyperspace but there were no enemy ships in the vicinity of Tartarus where they expected Anubis to be. Apparently he had left some signal beacons to create a diversion and conceal his true location.

Major McKay cursed under breath.

"Where the hell is he?" His tantrum, this time, was contagious and the others felt the same powerless anger in them. But he quickly controlled his emotions as his anger will not magically divulge Anubis current location. They needed information. "Send teams on the surface and see what they can find, if anything. And be careful for traps, he is certain to have left some behind."

"Yes, sir,"

Major McKay danced around the consoles as he performed some recalibrations to compensate for the diversions these signal beacons had created. He was not pleased he had allowed that snake head to trick him so easily. He sighed with frustration as it was not going as fast as he would like.

"Where are you, you little git?" He mumbled. He had been so certain that Anubis would be here that he could hardly resist his desire for a fight. He was not usually this enthusiastic about this sort of thing but times change. He felt the innate to desire to kick some Goa'uld butt and kick it hard.

He doubted though his ancestor Dr. Rodney McKay would have felt that way or even approved. He was after all a scientist and not a soldier. But with all the trainings lately and Admiral Benson's recent actions he was definitely itching for a fight.

He needed of course to focus on finding the snake head before he gets his hands on the Borg otherwise the game will take a drastic u-turn. The very idea of that still sent shivers down his spine.

He had been however pondering on how Anubis would achieve that. He could not put a Goa'uld larva in her as she is mostly cybernetic. So how would he do it? He would definitely need some kind of way to bridge her consciousness and his….

McKay froze dead in his tracks as a new idea came to him. It amazed him how he did not think of that possibility before. In the past, the old Anubis used a device to bridge the mind of Thor with his computers. Will Junior think of the same way? He will have to make it to work both ways and essentially upload himself into her. But will it work? And once he has done so how would he ensure that her mind will stay subdued.

When in the form of larva that is somewhat simple as the larva takes physical control over the nervous system of its host but uploading oneself into a digital form doesn't grant the same possibility. Every program can be fought and in digital form he will have to fight on a very different level the Queen. And McKay was certain that in that battle the Queen will have the upper hand.

Of course there was another scary possibility. Anubis could weaken the Queen's mind and then upload it into a virtual matrix and then upload himself into the empty brain space of the Queen's body. Or… of course, there were other crazy possibilities neither of which were very appealing. Hence the reason, Dr McKay needed to divine Anubis location quickly.

"Ground teams are reporting." Lieutenant Vars interrupted his thoughts.

"What have they found?"

"A few abandoned research labs," Vars replied. "Recently abandoned,"

"Any traps?"

"Negative, so far,"

"Excellent, inform them to await my arrival." McKay said and headed for the ring platform. He needed to examine these places so he can find something useful, or at least something that will tell them what his plans are other than the ones he had already uncovered. He hoped the others were having a better luck.

Enterprise F dropped out of hyperspace on the last known and predicted location of USS Voyager and made full use of its new sensor array.

"Captain, sensors are picking up the residual warp trail of Voyager." Commander Data informed.

"Avatar, predict their location for speeds ranging from warp 6 to warp 8!" Commander Riker commanded the ship's AI.

"We have to find a better name, Number One!" Captain Picard observed.

"Calling it Enterprise will create a lot of confusion, Captain."

"I agree but we need a better one."

"Should we not leave that to him?"Data interjected as he genuinely believed that the AI should have that freedom. After all the AI was a sentient being as hard as that has been for everyone.

Commander Riker and Captain Picard exchanged looks. Data has become a fierce defender of the AI, which was understandable up to a point. But they needed everyone to be focused at what they were best at. Now was not the time for this sentiment as they would be opening a dangerous door and one they may not be able to close. This was one of the reasons they were against the ship having an AI that sophisticated.

"Didn't Voyager last report indicate the presence of an abandoned alien base on this world?" Councilor Troi asked.

Captain Picard frowned but looked at Commander Data.

"The councilor is correct." Data confirmed.

"Mr. Worf, assemble an away team and check it out."

"Captain?"

"It is possible it may have something to do with our current problems." Captain Picard elaborated. "We are bound to check it."

"Yes, Captain," Worf said and left the bridge.

Captain Picard hoped they could find something useful though that was not certain. If Voyager had stumbled onto anything Earthly they would have reported it. But it was possible the base belonged to the Goa'uld and that was worth exploring.

"Toby the little Dragon,"

The AI appeared before Commander Riker.

"I am sorry what?" Commander Riker asked confused.

"You suggested I needed a new name. This is one."

Captain Picard suppressed a smile as he sensed clearly the sarcastic tone behind the AI's suggestion. This was something new. He knew the SGC had designed the AI to be loyal and bond with its crew and over the past few months he noticed an increased use of humor on its part.

That was something that Data had not been able to emulate for so long and yet this AI has started to use it from time to time, and very successfully too. It was still weird but the crew had been getting used to the quirkiness of the AI. It was extremely unconventional.

The Federation had never been able to successfully develop such an AI. The EMH program was the closest they have achieved but it was nowhere near as sophisticated as this one nor as adaptive. Probably the only AI that comes close to that is Voyager's EMH.

"Have you completed the calculations?" Captain Picard asked.

The AI turned around and a display came to life. It showed the possible trajectories Voyager may have taken based on the proposed parameters. Some of them passed by several inhabited worlds. It seemed worth investigating.

"Helm, after Mr. Worf returns aboard, set a course for the nearest inhabited world along that trajectory," Captain Picard ordered.

"You think they will stop along?"

"I think it is only logical, Number One!"

Commander Worf returned after an hour. He reported that the base was not part of the Goa'uld, the SGC or the Replicators. It was of no remote interest to the current mission. It was to their core mission hence he had taken all the samples and things he could salvage for further study.

So the Enterprise F jumped back to hyperspace and an hour later arrived at the first planet along the suspected trajectory. It was class M world with developed trade and one that provided a clue to the mission at hand.

Apparently Voyager had stopped there as they had suspected. According to its leader it met with the leader of another world who was in need of help that Voyager had provided. He had then offered his hospitality and Voyager had accepted. They provided the coordinates and Enterprise F was back in hyperspace. The new planet was not along the suspected trajectory which suggested that Voyager travelled faster and in a different direction.

Arriving in orbit of that world prompted the AI to appear again on the bridge. It looked at the captain expectantly.

"Yes, Toby, the little dragon?" Captain Picard asked promptly earning a weird look from everyone on the bridge.

"Captain?" Number One couldn't help but exclaim. He found the use of that designation disturbing.

The captain however seemed amused at their reaction but he did in the same spirit that the AI had offered it. "Well?"

The AI found the captain's riposte intriguing and noted to itself that this was an improvement of their relationship. But that was not the reason for his appearance. He has detected something intriguing.

"I have picked the residual presence of keron particles and old model's Borg implants."

"You have what?" Commander Riker exclaimed stunned.

Captain Picard was also stunned. Old Borg model implants, it sounded weird but also highly intriguing. "Old model?" He asked promptly.

"My database contains the signature of Pre-Full-Borg body parts and implants."

"How this information came to be in your database?" Captain Picard asked. "The SGC would have shared with us such a discovery."

"I…" The AI stuttered. To be honest, he did not know for sure. He knew that the piece of knowledge has been added to his database prior to their departure. He shared as much with his captain.

"Who put it there?"

"I do not know." The AI replied. "But it requires a level 14 command level code."

"Level 14? Who has such clearance? The Council of the Pegasus Alliance? The Young Alliance?"

"None of the above. I do know that it is someone above though who I can't tell as this also requires a level 14 authorization code."

"Perhaps we can sort this mystery later." Councilor Troi suggested.

"Yes, we will." Captain Picard agreed. "Where are those implants?"

"My scans indicate they are located in this chamber." The AI replied and showed them.

"It seems we need to establish contact with the locals." Commander Riker observed.

"Scanning local frequencies," The AI obliged. "Establish contact with the planet's leader, Governor Sharma."

The view screen activated and the governor appeared on it. He seemed a bit startled by this unconventional way of communication. Usually contact with other species was done through the proper diplomatic channels. No one before has made contact directly with him.

"Excuse us for the intrusion, Governor Sharma. I am Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the United Federation of Planets vessel USS Enterprise." Captain Picard stood up and walked to the screen.

Governor Sharma grew out of his initial stupor. "The United Federation of Planets? Oh, I have already met with one of your representatives, Captain Janeway!"

"Yes, we heard. Please forgive the intrusion but we seem to have lost contact with USS Voyager and since this was the last place they visited…"

"Perfectly understandable, Captain Picard," Governor Sharma said. "Would you and your crew care to visit our world? "

"We wouldn't want to impose on your hospitality."

"Nonsense, Captain, I welcome you on our world. Any friend of Voyager is my friend and I insist."

"In that case, we gracefully accept."

"I am sending you landing coordinates. I will see you soon." Governor Sharma said and the transmission ended.

"Well, it seems you invited yourselves to a party!" The AI commented before vanishing and thus leaving no room for the inevitable snarky comment from Commander Riker.

"So I guess beaming is out of the question?" Commander Data remarked.

"It would seem so, Commander." Captain Picard said. "Councilor Troi, Mr. Worf, Commander Data, you are coming with me. Number One, the bridge is yours."

The away team used one of the onboard shuttles to reach the provided coordinates. The world they saw below was beyond amazing. It spoke of advanced technology mixed with rich culture and great natural beauty.

Governor Sharma and the reception party welcomed them. The Captain was pleasantly surprised as to how quickly they had organized this. Governor Sharma took them to the main building that could be described as a palace or a fortress.

"We are honored to receive a visit from the UFP as we were when our people's saviors came to us several months ago." Governor Sharma began his speech turned to the monitors that apparently transmitted this to the rest of his world. "We have established the first steps towards lasting relationship with the crew of USS Voyager and extend now the hand of friendship towards our newest guests from the UFP."

"We gracefully accept the hand of friendship." Captain Picard stood up and shook hands with Governor Sharma. "We are honored to be here with you where the crew of Voyager came to your aid in your time of need. We hope we can build on this relationship towards establishing a possible future alliance with your people."

"We thank you for your kind words, Captain." And with that the official greeting came to an end and the screens were off. "We offer you the hospitality of our world. I understand that you are in some kind of a hurry, Captain, but we ask you and your crew to take one day off and be here among us. Everyone needs some time off before pursuing great burdens."

Captain Picard had hoped that this visit will be short and they were indeed pressed for time but he could not refuse the offer either, diplomatic protocol. "We accept."

And so the crew of the Enterprise F got an unexpected but welcomed R&R time. And with all that has happened in the past few months they definitely needed some time off. Captain Picard saw it as a chance for the crew to unwind and he was not disappointed with what this world had to offer.

This world reminded them of home and it offered everything for every soul's desire and they took full advantage of it. The rich culture of this world was mesmerizing.

Commander Riker and Councilor Troi enjoyed an evening at the Locale (a prestigious music theatre) where Will could even play the trombone. The locals welcomed his performance as they had enjoyed that of Ensign Kim and the EMH.

Commander Worf found a battle arena where he could show the great prowess of the Klingon warriors. He also faced great challenges from local tribes that tested his metal (so to speak) in unexpected ways.

Commander LaForge was offered a visit to a museum of the building arts. At first, Geordie was a bit skeptical but once he got in his face lit up with the impossible constructions, puzzles and at places ridiculous building techniques of several races from this region of space. He even found a place where they built models of pretty much anything that were just as complex as the ship he had constructed as present to one Starfleet admiral.

Commander Data's visit was unusual. It was mostly because no one in this region has ever met an independent functioning cybernetic life form other than the Borg. They found him fascinating. They also showed him everything that he desired to see. And his taste was impeccable.

Captain Picard and Commander Crusher visited several theatrical performances and half a dozen museums. Governor Sharma had accompanied them for some of them. Of course the two got the impression the governor was saving something for later as they were diverted from some museums.

The rest of the crew visited the different entertainments that world had to offer and a few beaches. The ambiance was great and everyone was able to visibly relax and wear down the burdens of the last few months.

The next morning, Captain Picard and his command crew were invited in the personal residence of the Governor.

"We thank you, Governor, for the warm welcome and all the lovely entertainments. My crew enjoyed it greatly. We needed that."

"It is our pleasure, Captain. I got the feeling you needed one."

"You are very persuasive and gracious leader." Councilor Troi said. "But I sense there is more to today's visit to the governor's office."

"Your kind is very gifted, Councilor Troi." Governor Sharma replied. "And you are correct. As I am sure, you and Captain Picard noticed, I had some museums removed from your visit and you are probably wondering why."

"We got that impression, yes." Councilor Troi acknowledged.

"One of the main reasons is because I did not to spoil your day of relaxation."

"Spoil it?"

"When Captain Janeway and her crew came to visit they went to several monasteries where they made a few discoveries that brought great concern to them."

"In what way?" Captain Picard asked his interest piqued.

"Our planet is home to a very unusual collection and also very unusual history." Governor Sharma said mysteriously. He clapped hands and several people came in and delivered some covered tables, bowed and left.

Governor Sharma walked to one of them and lifted the cover. Stupor overtook the visitors.

"These are relics from our past when the Borg first visited our world. Their appearance was very different from what we see today. They were beings just like you and me but made entirely out of nanites."

"Human Form Replicators!" It was not a question but mere acknowledgement.

Governor Sharma was pleasantly surprised of their knowledge. If he had to be honest he did expect a different reaction. "Yes,"

"And the others," Commander Riker pointed at the other tables.

Governor Sharma removed the covers and they saw earlier versions of Borg implants. That much was obvious.

"Why have they come to your world?" Captain Picard asked. It was obvious the Replicators have not come to conquer this world but there had to be another reason.

"They came here to mine this metal." Governor Sharma showed them a vial containing the metal in question.

"May I?" Commander Data asked taking out his tricorder.

"By all means, Commander Data," The governor took the vial and gave to him.

"Data?" Commander Riker looked at him expectantly.

Data simulated a frown and a surprise. "It is Keron."

This discovery has been unexpected but welcomed. Captain Picard asked the Governor for a sample and a detailed history lesson. It provided invaluable information about the earliest days of the Borg.

"There is one more thing." Governor Sharma said before they left. "We took the liberty of following Voyager for some time, from a distance with our warp drones."

"Why?"

"This discovery has unsettled our new friends. And while we are a peaceful world, Captain, we have other means to ensure its safety. It was clear Captain Janeway intended to further pursue this lead and…"

"And you were worried about the safety of your world." Councilor Troi finished his sentence.

"That is one reason, yes. The other is that we needed to ensure that our new friends do not end up in unnecessary danger. We have some friends in this quadrant that have the power to protect them. "

"That is very noble of you." Captain Picard exclaimed visibly surprised and impressed. These people were worthy of the Federation and its core values.

"Our drones followed Voyager for a month or so. We can provide you with the coordinates of the worlds they visited and all the long range sensor data they picked up during that time."

"This is most gracious of you."

"Captain Picard, the crew of Voyager has given us hope for the future and revealed to us a part of our own history. We are extremely grateful. We are also concerned for their safety. We have not been able to go through all the data but we hope it would be of use to you so you can find them quickly and ensure they are safe. We would appreciate that you let us know of that once we find them."

"Of course, Governor, you have our word."

Captain Picard thanked once again the governor for his hospitality. He and his crew returned to the Enterprise F.

"Commander Data, upload the data into the computer and start immediate analysis. If this data can give us a clue to the whereabouts of Voyager this would save us much time."

"Right away, Captain,"

"It was a productive visit." Commander Riker noted. "I am glad we accepted their invitation."

"Well, Number One, we could hardly refuse. The Federation may be gone but its principles are still very much present."

"Yes, sir,"

"Commander Worf, inform the other Starfleet ships of our discovery and tell them to standby for coordinates."

"Yes, Captain,"

Major Dr. Connor McKay's visit to Tartarus proved to be fruitful. It would seem that Anubis had left in a hurry and had left many useful things behind. The first disturbing discovery had been a vial of larva liquid that contained DNA strains of a Goa'uld Mother. Further study revealed altered DNA strains.

The weird part was that somehow Anubis made himself a Mother but some other Goa'uld Mother had taken his place. McKay had the away teams search the facility and its vicinity for any signs of the body and soon they found it.

"And it is confirmed."

"Anubis was replaced by another Goa'uld."

"And Anubis has not sensed the difference?" McKay asked his colleague Dr. Anita Korolev.

"I was able to determine that the other one is using some kind of pheromones that would definitely do the trick. If Anubis doesn't study the Mother in details, he may never find out."

"That is so interesting."

"So another snake head has different plans?"

"It would seem so."

"Unless, he is aware of it." Commander Keller interjected.

"There is no evidenced to that." Dr. Korolev countered.

"I think there is." Commander Keller said. "Come with me!"

She led them two floors down and then down a secret passageway. They emerged into another lab with many pods, most of which were still full. "What would you make of this, Dr. Korolev?"

Dr. Korolev began immediate study of the bodies in the pods. Her face soon depicted a question mark. The other two waited patiently.

"Impossible,"

"Care to share with the class, Doctor?" McKay asked.

"I think Anubis cloned his Mother several times, mostly unsuccessfully. But a few were successful. He may have a few versions of himself on his ships."

"So…" McKay reasoned. "He may be aware of the other one but he has not killed it. Why?"

"Maybe he wants to find out its agenda." Commander Keller suggested.

"That seems plausible. Is there any way we can identify the other Queen Mother?"

"I can upload her DNA sequence in the database and we can see what we come up with." Dr. Korolev replied.

"Do it! We need to know with whom else we are dealing with."

"Two there are always – a master and an apprentice." Commander Keller said with a dramatic tone.

"Funny," McKay observed but added. "But which is which?"

"I guess we wait and find out."

The second discovery was just as disturbing as the first, if not a bit more. McKay found the blueprints for the nanites original design. But that was not half as bad as what he found further on. He discovered that Anubis was experimenting merging organics and nanites together.

And then his greatest fear manifested in the form of a terrible thought. He now knew what Anubis has planned. A normal Goa'uld larva could not be used to possess the Queen of the Borg. That is why Anubis has built a new one. That larva shared mixed existence – organic and cybernetic.

McKay shared this with Dr. Korolev and they both reached the same conclusion that possessing the Queen would be very difficult but not impossible.

"He will need to break her spirit, break her mind."

"How?"

"I suppose the usual way – torture." Dr. Korolev shrugged.

"How did you torture a being that doesn't feel anything?"

"Well," Dr. Korolev was pensive. "I guess you make the being feel. The Borgs have sensatory receptors. If he activates them to maximum sensitivity, he can do it."

"Ugh," McKay exclaimed disgusted. He did not feel that much compassion for the Borg Queen but she was still a sentient being. And what Anubis will do to her sent shivers down his spine.

"Then once he has achieved that, he can implant himself. His nanites will overcome with relative ease hers and reprogram them, and then…"

"He will have absolute control over her and the Borg collective." McKay finished her thought. "Can we prevent that or undo it?"

Dr. Korolev shook head. "Without a sample of the Queen's original nanites, that would be impossible."

"So, basically, we will have to kill the Queen?"

"Without that, I am afraid so."

"And that is provided we get the chance." McKay still thought 'ugh'. Anubis has entered the endgame and they had no way of stopping him should he get his hands on the Queen. But there had to be another way. There was always another way. "Anita, if we collect all the data of how he created this new larva, can we come up with something to neutralize him, render him unconscious?"

"I will take everything I can. But even then, it is a long shot, McKay. This may take months of research."

"As long as it takes," McKay said. "We must have some weapon against that slime."

"Let's just hope what we found here is the final version because if it is not there will be nothing we can do. I am sure he will make some modifications once he has the Queen but we can only hope they are minor."

"Yes, let us keep on the positive." McKay said. It still sickened him what Junior has come up with though to a point he had to admit that it was ingenious.

Commander Data and the Enterprise F's AI completed the analysis of the data they obtained from Governor Sharma. It contained detailed scans of everything Voyager had done since they left that planet.

Soon however they discovered something disturbing. The long range scanners of the drones had picked up the signature of a Borg sphere and an unknown class vessel that the two quickly recognized as an Ancient warship. The latter had opened fire on the sphere and blown the hell out of it. The weird part was that the sphere did not even attempt to fight back. Instead it retreated and ran as much as it can. The Borg sphere had then jumped to warp but did not make a long jump. Then a few days later, the drones had registered the appearance of Voyager that sent teams to the sphere.

The data then ended as the drones had returned home. But they contained the coordinates where that has happened. Data convened a meeting of the senior staff.

"You found something?"

"We did." Data replied. "The drones had picked up a Borg sphere's encounter with an Ancient warship that opened fire on it. The Borg sphere however did not retaliate and instead retreated by jumping to warp but the pursuers found her a few days later. The warship fired some more at it rendering it inert and then jumped back to hyperspace."

"A few days later, USS Voyager arrived there." The AI continued. "They visited the sphere and then the records end. The probes had set a return course."

"That sounds so unlike the Borg." Commander Riker noted.

"There is something else that the probes had picked up. A month after the visit to Governor Sharma's planet, Voyager visited a class M planet to resupply." The AI continued. "There the probes picked up a vessel on the surface of the planet. The vessel was a Goa'uld Alk'esh."

"An Alk'esh?"

"It is their bomber and troop carrier."

"That is most intriguing." Captain Picard said. "What were they doing there?"

"Unknown," The AI replied and vanished.

Captain Picard was pensive. He wanted to visit the coordinates where the Borg sphere undoubtedly continued to float but this new bit of information intrigued him too. The data has been very useful though it was not helping to divine the exact location of Voyager. Still what was Anubis doing in that system? They needed to know.

"Number One, you will take Commander Worf and Commander LaForge to that planet and find out what our Goa'uld friends were doing there. And then you will rejoin us at the Borg Sphere coordinates. Dismissed."

The Borg Queen contemplated her predicament when she was finally released from the constant torture session. She had faced many challenges in her long existence but none quite like this one. She had been disconnected from the Collective (it was not the first time) and she was captured by this weird creature – Anubis.

He appeared human but had nothing to do with them. He was cold and ruthless. The look in his eyes was predatory and full of a strange lust. He enjoyed every bit of her suffering and continued to find new ways to inflict pain upon her. Somehow he had managed to increase the sensitivity of her pain receptors and the pain was intolerable. But Anubis never allowed it lately to become too much for her. He obviously wanted her conscious.

She was trying to divine his endgame. What was he hoping to achieve? He had said that he would melt her into a vegetable so he can rebuild her in his image. But how was he hoping to achieve that? The Borg body may be susceptible to pain but no amount of torture was going to melt her neuro-pathways or render her a vegetable. Her mind was part organic part digital. And that made her an impossible target for many forms of intrusion.

She suddenly winced and a memory resurfaced before her eyes. It was a time before she had joined the collective. She was young and naïve but joyful. She played with her friends and was in the company of her parents.

Then the Borg came and they ran home to barricade themselves. Not that this would have helped and it didn't. The Borg came anyway and took her and her parents albeit their initial resistance but as we know – resistance is futile.

She spent her days then in a maturation chamber before she grew into the Borg she was today. She began her career as a drone like everyone else. At first, the overwhelming number of voices in her head drove her insane but then with time she got used to them. And now she could barely live without them.

Another memory surfaced. It was the time she was disconnected from the Collective. They were on a routine mission in the Gamma Quadrant when their sphere came under attack from species (well, she forgot their number) but the quadrant called them the Dominion. They were a race of shape shifters. The Borg did not find a proper way (and still hasn't) to assimilate them.

This attempt could have been successful but they were led into an ambush and their ships sliced through her sphere like fiery swords. So many drones were lost that day. And what was left of the sphere crashed on a nearby moon.

For the first time there was peace and tranquility in her mind. Her link with the Collective had been severed. And that scared her a lot. She was so used to the voices. They comforted her and soothed her. Some of the voices were of her parents.

After a moment she overcame the fear and began constructing a distress beacon. The other drones that survived helped her but not for long. The exposure to this environment and the lack of the voices soon granted them access to the memories of their previous lives. And they started increasingly to use the word I.

Soon she was alone as the others had no desire whatsoever to return back to the Borg. She considered her options and they were not many. So she pretended to be one of them but in secret continued building the beacon. But they soon discovered her efforts however she was cunning enough to convince them that she did that so a Borg vessel can come and they can free everyone else and then leave this wretched Quadrant. They believed her and helped her finish it.

When a Borg cube eventually came to them, she quickly reconnected her mind to the rest and with the help of the drones succeeded in reconnecting the others too. They protested and fought but in the end the Borg prevailed. And that action earned her a reward rarely bestowed in the Borg ranks.

She was taken away from her usual cell and brought into the heart of the Borg Collective and there for first time she learnt of her creators. She also learnt that only a handful of Borg knew of their existence. Her mind experienced something strange that day. On one hand she could hear the swirl of voices of the Collective and on the other she heard the voice of her creators. It was like her mind vibrated on two different frequencies.

Terrible pain coerced through her. She noticed the return of Anubis. This time he had calibrated that pain stick to inflict maximum damage. The pain became intolerable and overwhelming. Finally, the Borg Queen thought, I am losing consciousness and will be spared of that creature's leer. And moments later, darkness overtook her.

"Take her to the lab," Anubis commanded. "The time has come for us to become intimately acquainted."

Enterprise F's shuttle class Phoenix appeared in orbit of an M class world. The initial scans revealed that this world did not possess warp but it was still advanced enough. And after all, Voyager's crew did make contact with them.

"Geordie, see if you can establish contact with the inhabitants of this world." Commander Riker ordered.

"Scanning local frequencies," Geordie replied. "We have contact."

On the view screen appeared a humanoid dressed in a somewhat pompous way that introduced itself. "I am Minister Shala of the Rontari Space Empire."

Commander Riker muted for a moment and exchanged looks with the others. "I thought you said they do not possess warp capable ships?"

"Scans do not reveal the presence of such vessels but that doesn't exclude the possibility of such." Geordie replied.

"Put him back on." Commander Riker said. "Minister Shala, I am Commander William Riker of the Federation starship USS Enterprise."

"Federation?" Minister Shala repeated. "UFP?"

"Yes,"

"To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit to our world?"

"We understand you recently hosted one of our ships USS Voyager?"

"Yes, we did." Minister Shala confirmed. "Captain Janeway and Ambassador Neelix,"

"We also understand that you found something unusual on your world, an unknown technology."

"Yes, indeed, it created some tension between us."

"In what way?"

"Perhaps a meeting face to face would be most appropriate for this story." Minister Shala proposed. He had no desire to discuss this on an open channel. "Would you and your party care to join us on the surface?"

"Of course,"

"I am transmitting landing coordinates."

"We shall be there shortly. Thank you, Minister."

"We await your arrival." Minister Shala said and the connection was severed.

"Geordie, take us down as instructed." Commander Riker commanded. "Mr. Worf! After we land, please explore the coordinates where the warp probes had picked up the Alk'esh and then rejoin us."

"Commander, this seems inappropriate." Commander Worf protested. "Why not let our hosts take us there?"

"It is possible they were not aware of that ship."

"Even so, I do not believe this to be right course of action. We are guests on this world. This action may be misinterpreted."

"I agree with Worf, Commander." Geordie said.

Commander Riker was not very fond of this decision but it saved time. Still his officers were right. This would be most inappropriate action. He felt momentarily ashamed for even suggesting it but these last months have been more trying than he could have imagined and they had taken its toll on him. "Very well, we shall ask them for permission. Let us first see what they have discovered."

The others two exchanged looks and visibly relaxed. Actually, Worf understood him very well. He, himself, got the same feeling of loss ever since the Klingons joined forces with Anubis. The proud and honorable Klingon warriors lost to this tyrant. But he had not lost hope that his people will see through the lies of this petah and retake their rightful place in the galaxy.

Geordie also understood the overwhelming pressure Commander Riker was under. He felt it too many times. At times he also wanted to give in to the anger but he then stopped himself realizing that nothing can be achieved this way.

They landed at the given coordinates and were greeted by Minister Shala. He led them into the Hall of Meetings where he had previously received Captain Janeway and Neelix. Since the departure of Voyager, his people were finally able to discover all of the intruders' devices spread all over their facilities. Removing them had proven far more difficult than anticipated as they were incorporated in their power grid system.

Captain Janeway and her crew had stayed for two weeks trying to help them remove these devices but alas to no avail. Minister Shala had almost given up when Commander Riker and his people arrived. He was hoping they could provide a new perspective that could allow them to remove them. At first the devices were not that much of a problem but then he discovered that they were siphoning power from the grid.

He shared this particular problem with the newcomers and explained the confusion and mistrust these things have created. Under normal circumstances, he would have wanted more proof of his guests' claims but he was getting desperate.

"May we see these devices?" Commander Riker asked.

"Of course, please follow me," Minister Shala said somewhat relieved they had accepted the challenge. He led them down the tunnel system where they had first discovered one of the devices with the help of Voyager.

"Here, it is." Minister Shala pointed at the power conduit where a small oblong device was visible.

Geordie took out his tricorder and began his scans. Normally, he would not have detected the small nuances emitted by that device had he not updated the Federation databank with the knowledge they obtained from their new friends of the SGC.

"Well, it is not a power siphoning device." Geordie said after awhile but quickly added seeing the protest in the minister's eyes. "Do not get me wrong, it does siphon power but it is not for the reasons you may have thought."

"Geordie, what are they here for then?" Commander Riker asked.

"I believe they were placed here to detect a specific engine signature. The devices have tapped into the power grid but also very subtly into the planet's orbital satellite network. The devices emit a barely detectable subspace signal that has embedded itself into their satellites. And they seek a specific engine signature."

"Which is what?"

"I believe it is that of the Replicators."

"Wait a minute," Worf exclaimed. "They placed them to tell them when the Replicators will come visit this world?"

"Yes, I think so."

"But how can they be sure they would?"

"I get it now." Commander Riker exclaimed. He finally understood their purpose. "Instead of using probes to comb the galaxy looking for them, they have placed them on every world that has a connection to the Borg or at least every other world close to a Borg connected planet for which they have heard."

"Seems like a waste of time and resources."

"Not at all, Worf," Commander Riker said. "A probe can be picked up by the Replicators but a subtle monitoring station hardly."

"That's right, Commander, and had it not been the incident with Voyager, the Replicators may have never learnt of them."

"How so?"

"Well, the data I just extracted from the network shows the appearance of a Replicator ship some time after Voyager's departure. They scanned the planet and then almost immediately jumped to hyperspace."

"There could be many reasons for that." Worf countered.

"True, but the scans were that of the news data stream. No, I'm positive that's the reason they ran so quickly. The network holds records of previous visits over the years of that ship or a similar one. They have always stayed for more than a few moments."

"May I see the ship in question?" Minister Shala asked. He had followed the conversation but they spoke in codes he did not understand.

"Sure," Geordie said and looked for a console where to call that data. "There you are."

"How do you call them?" Minister Shala asked after recognizing the ship's shape.

"We call them Replicators. They may appear humanoid; Minister, but they are not organics. These beings are made entirely out of nanites."

"How do you call them?"Worf asked.

"We know them as the Asurans." Minister Shala replied. "They have visited our world many times. They are excellent traders if somewhat cold and calculating."

"What were they trading?" Commander Riker asked intrigued.

"All kinds of things," Minister Shala said. "Sometimes it has been very weird. They brought us tons of comet ice when we had some issue with our water supplies and traded it for a pamphlet of nursing rhymes."

Minster Shala illustrated some of their trades in the past and apparently the Replicators have visited this world regularly for thousands of years, and traded vital supplies for junk. But as the smuggler's motto goes 'someone's junk is another man's treasure'. Still some of the items the Replicators have obtained made little sense.

Why would the Replicators need any of these items? They could essentially replicate any of them. And the uninvited question came, were their trades only with this world or with others? Why would they need such items – nursery rhymes, children's books, cooking jars, wooden ladders, solar panels, outdoor tools, climbing equipment, and many other oddities?

Commander Riker found this information weird at best. Perhaps there was more to these Replicators that met the eye.

"Geordie, can we remove these things?"

"If we were still using the Federation ways – no, but with our current knowledge – it will not be a problem."

They remained on the Quorum planet, which was the name of the planet, for two days. It was more than sufficient for Geordie to safely remove the devices. They earned the gratitude of the locals and their pledge of friendship to the people of the Federation. And then they made haste to rejoin their crew.

Enterprise F exited hyperspace where last the Borg sphere had been detected. Accounting for the drift, the AI soon located it. But seeing the data that someone had blown the hell out of it and actually seeing it were two different things.

The sphere had suffered severe damage. It was still strange to reconcile with the fact that the Borg did not fight back as Captain Picard noted. Seeing one of the most powerful and dangerous races in the galaxy intimidated in that way was humbling.

"Are there any areas that have breathable air?" He asked.

"Scans reveal several such spots but I do recommend the away teams use space suits nevertheless. The condition of this vessel is less than optimal and depressurization is possible at any given moment." The AI replied and recommended.

"Duly noted," Captain Picard said. "Commander Data, assemble your away team. Major Mayborne, assemble your team too. Cover as much as you can and find what you can about what interests us."

"If anything does exist," The AI remarked.

"Keep it optimistic,"

"With such a banged shell, I do not believe I would feel very optimistic."

"Hope is a powerful motivator."

"Everyone with their own illusions of the harsh reality," The AI countered and vanished.

"Councilor, is it my imagination or the AI has begun to…?"

Councilor Troi suppressed a smile. She found the growth of the AI's personality intriguing though very different from that of Data. Both of course were curious of their surroundings but evolved differently in it. The AI had the benefit of advanced programming to assimilate the cultural aspects and its intricacies of its crew while Data could only emulate them.

Still the level of maturity and understanding of even the smallest idiomatic or cultural reference, or day to day parlor of the AI was significantly more advanced than that of Data and she attributed that to the fact that Data's creator was not a person with many friends or one who lived as full member of a society. Dr. Sung was an isolationist who sought to improve the human race without actually to have lived in its society in order to understand it.

"No, Captain, it is not your imagination." Councilor Troi replied. She also found it amazing that the crew did not mind the duality of the AI's personal appearance. The first time she saw it she was intrigued. Having not decided whether to appear as male or female, the AI had decided to appear as both – half man, half woman. And it changed its physical side all the time. It appeared randomly as Vulcan, Andorian, Betazoid, Human, Klingon (she remembered that day with fondness as it succeeded to completely dumbfound Commander Worf leaving him speechless for the day), Romulan and actually all the members of the Federation.

It was so refreshing seeing the crew's surprise. At some point they grew accustomed to this weirdness and attributed it the quirkiness of its creators who have not seen so many different races in one place.

The AI's weirdness however was not confined to the members of the Federation worlds. There were times he had appeared as some form of animal thus completely startling the crew and its officers.

Councilor Troi smiled when she remembered the AI's suggestion for a name. She recalled the day he had appeared as a hideous dragon. It scared the willies out of its creators. Dr. Jacqueline Jackson then, Troi believed, used that name. She had been the only one who found his appearance cute. Her brother though, Dr. Jon Jackson, was not of the same opinion.

Speaking of her brother, Troi smiled. He was a charmer in his own grumpy way. He had been one of the trainers for the ship's simulated battles. The epithet language he used to motivate his crew was unparalleled. She was certain though the Starfleet officers did not understand even half of the references he used. But that somewhat offensive language did the job.

The other trainer she remembered was Dr. John Fraser and she did because these two were so similar in many ways. And they also bickered a lot. That alone made her suspect that they have had the same interests for a woman, which turned out to be the case. She also learnt that they grew up together. And then she imagined the interest had turned to Dr. Jackson's sister.

When she asked her, she had laughed heartily. She explained to Deanna that their bickering had nothing to do with her or another woman. It had to do with their mutual respect for one another (and their background – Dead Cultures and Languages) and the utter joy it gave them to annoy anyone around them.

"You should also observe McKay and Sheppard and you will get a blast." Jack had told her and she was right. Connor McKay apparently had inherited his great, great grandfather's inability to flirt with anyone. Teyla Sheppard also seemed to have that difficulty and the pair of them produced so hilarious and embarrassing situations but that entertained everyone.

Councilor Troi found it comforting that despite the ugliness in their political system that she had come to resent quickly (especially when she met Councilor Ryan Geiss) the SGC remained so humbly human.

"Councilor?" Captain Picard threw her out of her thoughts.

"Captain?"

"Is everything alright?"

"Yes, everything is fine. I was just lost in some memories."

"It tends to happen to the best of us, Deanna." Captain Picard said.

The away team reported back and the debriefing began. Commander Data's team had discovered that the Borg Queen had been out to meet with her creators in order to find a way to deal with the threat of the Goa'uld and their superior weaponry. For some reason, she had failed to present sufficient authentication and the Replicators had seen her as a threat and opened fire.

Major Mayborne's team confirmed this but added that at the time of the attack she had also been disconnected from the Collective and her drones were inert. Still she had managed to jump the ship though she was forced to emerge from transwarp at some point due the extensive damage the ship had sustained.

"At least, there is some good news." Dr. Crusher remarked.

"Doctor?"

"The Borg Queen is no longer the head of the Borg. So…"

"So," Captain Picard reasoned. "Even if Anubis captures her, she will be of no use to him."

"I will not celebrate just yet." Major Mayborne cut in. "Anubis is very resourceful. If he has her, he will find a way."

"That is provided the Replicators fail to elect a new Queen in time." Commander Data noted.

"And we do not know how much time that takes." Councilor Troi interjected. "And if they will elect one at all,"

"I doubt, Councilor, even they would be willing to give Anubis control over their creation."

"Or perhaps, they do not believe he is capable of it."

"That is also a possibility." Captain Picard agreed. "But it is also reason for us to find Voyager as quickly as possible. Any leads Commander Data, Major?"

"We are still sifting through the data obtained from the Borg's main computer." Commander Data said.

"Yes, it is possible there is still something useful there for us. This was the most pertinent data we have uncovered on a short notice." Major Mayborne added. She knew it was not much but she agreed to a point with Dr. Crusher that it was good news, the only one so far.

"Then by all means, get to it." Captain Picard was not entirely happy with half information or loss of time over this. And though it was valuable information, they were still nowhere near finding Voyager's location. And they needed to find them quickly before it becomes too late.

Sometime later, two Federation ships appeared at their coordinates – USS Defiant and USS Star Admiral. The latter was supposed to be under the command of Admiral Nechev but as Captain Picard learnt she has gone along the forces to liberate Earth. Apparently she had not taken no for an answer.

The new arrivals had been on some worlds that were recently visited by Voyager but they contained no clue as to their current whereabouts. That information was uncovered surprisingly by Enterprise's AI who apparently was annoyed with the slow speed of Commander Data and Major Mayborne.

"Where are they?"

"USS Voyager had gone to a planet designated as P0Z 040 from the SGC database and pointed as the sacred grounds by the Borg Collective." The AI replied.

"Sacred Grounds?" Captain Sisko exclaimed. "For the Borg, that can't be."

"As incredible as this may sound to you, Captain, many cultures happen to have such places even the weird ones." The AI noted sarcastically.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you and your prophets fit the description of weird." The AI replied. "Non linear beings, what a ludicrous notion,"

"They are non linear!" Captain Sisko exclaimed belligerently. "They have no concept of the passage of time…"

"From your perspective, perhaps," The AI interrupted.

"Alright, enough you two," Captain Picard intervened raising his voice. He never understood the AI's distaste of Captain Sisko and the Bajoran Wormhole Prophets. "Captain Sisko, return to your ship, and you, set course for that planet."

"As you wish, " The AI said but couldn't resist adding. "As soon as the prophesized puppet returns back to his bucket,"

"Enough!" Captain Picard exclaimed getting slightly angry. He would have to discover one of these days the source of this hostility towards Captain Sisko. "And apologize to Captain Sisko,"

"Over my dead programming," The AI replied and vanished.

"I will deal with this, Captain." Councilor Troi said.

"Councilor Troi, this AI is growing out of control. May I suggest some programming chastising?"

"Captain Sisko," Councilor Troi tried to sound as diplomatically as possible but failed to do so as she found the captain's suggestion out of place and propriety. "We do not solve our problems with violence. Perhaps, the lack of councilor on your ship is something to be redeemed. It will do wonders for you and your crew."

"Councilor!" Captain Picard exclaimed. This innocent at first situation has escalated into something ugly and something the Captain would have never thought possible for Starfleet officers.

"If you would excuse me, the air is filled with too much testosterone for my taste." Councilor Troi said and left leaving no room for comment on either side.

"Captain Sisko, I understand the difficult times we all experience but that comment was most inappropriate." Captain Picard said seriously.

"With all due respect, Captain Picard, we should have never allowed these abominations on our ships." Captain Sisko replied.

"And respect for all beings just went down the drain pipe." Major Mayborne observed. "Have you chastised your AI, Captain Sisko?"

"Captain?" Captain Picard looked at him expectantly.

"My ship is my concern."

"This doesn't answer the question, Captain. As annoying as sometimes these AIs can be, they are sentient beings."

Captain Sisko, truth be said, had full respect for all sentient beings just not this one. It was mostly because he did not see it as one. He had respect for Vince Fontaine, back aboard DS9, but that is as far as he would go. The AI imposed by the SGC was a painful reminder of the defeat they suffered and he will not have it onboard.

"And that is the way you chose to see them, Captain. I do not share that opinion. I have returned the AI back to the SGC. My ship has no need of such a program. It functions quite well without it." Captain Sisko replied. "What happens on a destroyer when the AI has a different opinion than you, Captain? Sooner or later, Captain, the AI will have a mind of its own and it will do as it pleases not as you want. We control our ships not the AIs. They have no say in that. So, please, mind your own business."

Captain Picard was to deliver one his counter speeches on the matter but was interrupted by the bridge's com.

"Captain Picard,"

"Yes, what is it?"

"Priority one message from Admiral Nechev,"

"Put her through." Captain Picard ordered. Admiral Nechev appeared on the screen. "Admiral?"

"Ah good, Captain Sisko,"

"Admiral?"

"I request your assistance with retaking our facilities on New Berlin. You and your command crew are to report to the gathering coordinates, immediately. Then, the USS Defiant will return without you to assist with the search of Voyager."

"Yes, Admiral,"

"USS Ross out,"

"I guess this is goodbye." Captain Sisko was grateful for timely interruption. "Captain Picard."

"Captain Sisko, good luck,"

'This is not over,' Captain Picard thought but for now the conversation was over. Still there was some merit in Sisko's words. But on the other hand, he understood the hostility of his AI towards Captain Sisko. It was also the time for an overdue conversation he had to have with his AI.

The USS Defiant left them while they jumped to P0Z 040. It was time to unravel this new mystery – the Borg's sacred grounds. Captain Picard was forced to leave behind a beacon for Commander Riker who had yet to return.

The Phoenix class shuttle of Commander Riker emerged from hyperspace above a class M world where in high orbit they found the Enterprise, the USS Star Admiral, the USS Alliance and the newest ship USS Archer.

They docked with the Enterprise and went to make their report. On the way, Commander Riker visibly noticed the tension of the crew and wondered what that was about. When he entered the briefing room he quickly understood. The captain was delivering one of his speeches to the AI. Apparently they had disagreed on something again.

Commander Riker often found the AI too willful and at times downright insubordinate but Deanna has always managed to diffuse the situation and explain that the AI is essentially a growing teenager, which he always found as even more troubling than anything else.

His constant opposition to his words was evidence enough of that. But Deanna had managed to persuade both of them that this is normal. She had even said 'Will, imagine how you would treat one day your own son?' And that usually ended with him surrendering to her logic.

"Captain, please," Commander Riker heard Deanna trying to diffuse the situation once more.

"No, this time he has crossed the line." Captain Picard exclaimed.

"Shall I write it a hundred times on the wall in detention?" The AI responded.

"Please, the both of you," Deanna raised her voice.

"Do I even want to know what this is about?" Commander Riker asked when he joined them at the table.

"No, you don't. " Deanna replied tiredly. "Captain, can I have a few moments with her? Alone!"

"By all means, Councilor!" Captain Picard said and noticed Commander Riker. "Ah, Number One, let's relocate to my ready room."

Commander Riker winked at Deanna for good luck and followed the storming out Captain to his ready room.

It was obvious the captain was not in a good mood so he considered being as brief as possible.

"So, Number One, what have our Goa'uld buddies being doing on that world?"

Commander Riker duly noticed the change of terminology used by the captain but ignored it and gave his report of the Goa'uld activities on Quorum.

Captain Picard bolted out of his chair startling a bit Commander Riker and started pacing in a pensive state. It was a curious new puzzle that the away team has discovered. Of course the puzzle they discovered on the planet below was just as intriguing.

Captain Picard returned to his chair and explained what they have discovered to Commander Riker.

The door chimed. "Enter."

Geordie, Commander Data and Major Mayborne promptly entered. They looked somewhat pale (and for Data that says something).

"Yes?"

"Anubis has captured the Borg Queen." Major Mayborne informed.

"Voyager's crew has been compromised and overtaken by the Goa'uld." Data added.

"And the ship that the Borg revered has jumped to an unknown location carrying some of Voyager's crew." Geordie blurted out.

"Wait – what?" Both Commander Riker and Captain Picard exclaimed confused.

And the three shot it again. "Wait! How did you obtain this information?" Commander Riker interrupted them. "From what I understand, you found the cave where the ship that gave birth to the Borg was located and which is no longer there. You also found residual trace of Voyager's impulse engines signature in orbit, and on the ground where it had landed for purposes unknown. You also found residual traces of a hyperspace window opening within the cave system.

You also found that the cave was bombarded from orbit by Voyager. And you also found a stargate still intact that has been used but nothing else. So I will repeat my question – how did you obtain that information?"

"We found a data storage near the Stargate left by a Colonel Cassie Carter." Geordie replied.

"Colonel who?" Captain Picard exclaimed. He touched his com badge. "Bridge, contact the USS Archer."

"Yes, Captain,"

The screen activated and on it appeared Dr. John Fraser. "You called, Captain?"

"Yes, would you mind telling us who Colonel Cassie Carter is? As according to Commander LaForge she has been on the planet below and left a data storage with the most vital…"

"WHAT?" Dr. Fraser exclaimed stunned. "Jackson! Get your butt here."

Dr. Jon Jackson promptly arrived. "What?" He looked at him expectantly. "What?"

"These fine gentlemen tell me that Colonel Carter has been on this planet."

"No, that's not possible." Dr. Jackson shook head.

"Why not?" Commander Riker asked.

Dr. Jackson sighed. They quickly noticed that the subject is somewhat painful. "Colonel Cassie Carter, Stargate Operations, Special Forces, was lost in the line of duty four years ago."

"The stargate on our end malfunctioned and she was lost. So what you are suggesting, Captain, is not possible."

"Well, I suppose we are not here to discuss what is possible and what isn't but Commander LaForge is rather adamant."

"What evidence do you have?"

"Geordie," Captain Picard turned to him.

Geordie placed the data unit and activated it. The face of Colonel Cassie Carter filled in the screen. "Ok, for whoever finds this, I will try to be brief as we do not have much time."

"Cassie?" Both Dr. Jackson and Fraser exclaimed.

"Four years ago, a malfunction of the Stargate, send me to the Gamma Site. When I checked the time stream it turns out two years had passed. I do not know how that is possible or where the discrepancy comes from but that is irrelevant.

I found a ship and headed straight for Earth. On the way I was forced to exit hyperspace and found myself in the middle of a Goa'uld armada led by the dark lord Anubis. How that git was still alive was beyond me but he was. I managed to sneak in on one of his ships. There I was fortunate enough to learn that he is not the ascended version but some of the god forgotten clones that have survived the extermination the old one had carried out.

He headed to Tartarus where he was breading Goa'uld Mothers. And there I saw mentions of races I have never heard before but learnt the humans were in the middle of it. So I learnt what I can and headed straight for the nearest outpost of these humans. Something called Star Base 44.

There I got acquainted with all the races in question. The humans have built the United Federation of Planets. It is a coalition of thousands of worlds working as one. Never felt more proud. And then I also learnt the name of the race, Anubis was aiming to transform into the new Jaffa – the Klingons.

He has read their sacred texts and found something about their founding father – Kahless, a great warrior or a god. I did not get the chance to find out. I suspect it may have been either an Asgardian in an early form or a Furling. He intended to duplicate some great battle and take his place. If you find these Klingons, tell them to check their history for accuracy of that battle and I am sure they find some discrepancies."

Cassie Carter took a breather, looked at her watch and continued. "I have some much to tell but so little time. So here is the fine print:

I found my way to P0Z040 where the Replicators have left one of the Ancient warships that they used to create the first form of the Borg, their children. I snuck onboard just in time to save Commander Chakotay, Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torres, Lieutenant Tom Paris, Ensign Kim and a few others.

Anubis had already visited and captured Voyager's captain and the Borg Queen. He left Voyager's captain on the ship and left. If it was just her I would have saved her but he had left a little present too. The captain was no longer the captain but his Queen Seshat. She had begun converting the crew already. There was nothing I can do for that.

With Ensign Kim's help we jumped the ship in orbit and cloaked it. We were just formulating a plan to retake Voyager when the Queen continued her bombardment of the cave and then jumped to warp. While deliberating how badly that was and what misfortune has come upon us, the ship detected a Replicator ship." She looked at her watch again.

"We have no time now but to use the stasis pods and pretend to be part of the original crew and hope that the overconfidence the Replicators will miss our entry. I will use Robert's device to scramble the system. Hopefully that would be enough to fool them. But of one thing, I am certain at least that is what I would do in their place the ship will not stay here. They will have to send it somewhere else. I wish I could guess where they will consider it to be safe.

PLEASE whoever finds this, you have to hurry and stop Anubis. I believe I know where he would go. He needs all that time to complete his diabolical plan. I am enclosing the coordinates. Hurry! There is no time to lose. You have to attack him with everything you have got.

Jackson, Fraser, I love both of you crazy bastards. I wish we had more time…"

The log ended leaving them all speechless. The only thing left was a gate address. It had eight symbols.

"Where is that?" Dr. Fraser turned to his crew.

"It is a small satellite galaxy next to Andromeda."

"Captain Picard, ready the Federation forces. I will contact the SGC and the Pegasus ships."

Anubis enjoyed the solace of the star system he was in. No one can find him here. He had left the premises of the Milky Way Galaxy and headed straight here.

His ships were unable to locate neither the Replicator ship nor Voyager. They had arrived at where the two should have been but there was nothing. There was no debris so that was the only good news.

The loss of his Queen was an unexpected blow and he vowed revenge over those responsible. For a moment he thought that it was the Replicators but the weirdness of the space where they were supposed to be suggested otherwise. His sensors could not pick up even the slightest residual trace of either warp or hyperspace activity. There were no impulse signatures either. There was literally nothing. Both ships have vanished without a trace.

That prompted him to focus on the Borg Queen. Of course when he learnt that she was no longer the Queen he was pissed beyond belief. But then he had the most brilliant idea. He needed to spread the rumor that she was still alive and on the run from him. He knew the Replicators could easily make a new queen but he needed them to keep the hope that she could still serve.

And he did. He wasted some time with that but it was worth the effort. He made sure only the Replicators can follow that development and the stupid SGC forces. They will run in circles trying to find him or her but in the end they will fail. And he will have more than sufficient time to convert the Queen.

The Queen did not disappoint. She was the most resilient being he had ever met. She felt nothing but he had discovered her pain receptors and that turned the tide in his favor. At some point she had lost completely the sense of time. She may have thought she had been in his clutches for a few days while it has been months. He recreated everything for those first days over and over again never her giving her the chance to realize she had been in here for much longer than that.

He was close to finally breaking her spirit. The final act of that consisted of adding the Tok'Ra memory disks to her temples to extract what he needed. They would recall her first memories and fill her mind with uncertainty. He needed that. In the process he discovered that she has been disconnected once from the Hive Collective Mind but never got the details as to how she was reconnected. And that was the missing piece of the puzzle for him to complete the possession.

So he had continued with the torture sessions over and over until her mind was weakened enough. Finally he had been able to obtain the last piece of the puzzle. He was amazed as to how the Replicators have kept her under control. No, how they have kept the Collective oblivious to their presence.

Now he was finally ready. The new larva he developed on Tartarus was now set to the proper parameters.

"Pity," Anubis exclaimed. The Borg Queen will not be awake for the crowning moment until it was too late. He deemed it so because if she were awake that could pose problems he'd rather avoid.

The mind rape began and the new larva was successfully implanted. The Queen's nanites did try to resist but they needed the conscious mind of the Queen to mount a proper defense and they did not get that help. And so he took them over with ease. He sensed the Queen's mind waking up and a dark smile appeared on his lips. It was time for the harsh reality's check.

The Borg Queen woke up. Her last memories were of that creature stabbing her in the back with the pain stick. It was so intense that she lost gratefully consciousness. Still it was a move that surprised her. She had thought she understood him but apparently she thought wrong.

She winced in pain. Something was wrong with her eyes or the light of the room where she was. She noticed just now that she was no longer in the cell. She had been moved. She still did not understand the motives of that Anubis. She had endured so much pain for the last few days that she had never endured in her entire life. But what was that thing hoping to achieve?

The light continued to diminish. She closed and opened her eyes but that process was not reversing. What has that creature done now? He's trying to deprave her of the light or her vision. This will not break her. She has been in the dark for a long period of her life. She can take it.

She winced again in pain as there was a sudden explosion of light. It was her ocular implants. So that is his game now? Lights on lights out, he won't succeed. He failed before and he will fail again and again. She was the Queen of the Borg. She will not give him the satisfaction.

Suddenly her vision worsened. She had the impression of looking through a telescope as the room she was in shrank and then everything returned to normal. She had no idea how any of what happened was possible. How was that creature able to manipulate her like that? And the horrible answer came to life when she noticed that she had stood up. Only she did not do that or did not want to.

She was frantic. How did this happen? Sit down, she thought. I have to sit but her body did not obey that command. Instead it made several steps until it reached a mirror. The Queen noticed with growing horror her hands touching her face and body but she definitely was not the one doing it.

A diabolic smile had appeared on her face and she saw the predatory look. And then at last she sensed she was not alone. Yes, she sensed another mind in her head and it was horrifically powerful. She tried to push it aside but failed. The mind grew and she reverted back to that pathetic world where she had been disconnected from the Collective.

The memory was the same but there was one element off. She saw a figure of a humanoid walking straight to her. The figure itself did not strike fear in her but its clothing did. It was that of her creators.

And so she ran as fast as she could. The Borg cube arrived and she climbed onboard. She was taken to the central hive where she was crowned queen…

"And where you will lose it," Someone with a terrifyingly hoarse voice said. And for a moment everything vanished away and she saw the outline of a creature with numerous tentacles and a body of some kind of worm with a little beak that opened and closed making some weird screaming sounds.

The Queen thrust head. No, I am the Queen of the Borg. It is just a terrible dream …

"And one you will not wake up from for millennia to come." The hoarse voice said.

She wondered – who are you? Who said that?

The figure of the creator grew in size and shape and she stood rooted at the ugly truth staring her in the eyes, and she uttered in silent horror: "Anubis."

Sinister laughter filled every fiber of her being. "Finally, I was wondering how long it would take you to realize that you have lost the war, little Borg drone."

"I don't understand."

He laughed again. "Yes, you do but the truth has not caught up with you, yet. You have to admire those creators of yours. They have provided me with a door into your mind. You saw my body briefly." And the outline of that small creature reappeared. "I am in you now. And the Borg Collective will soon be mine!"

"No, that's not possible. I am Borg. Cybernetic life form, I can't be possessed."

"And that is where you are wrong, child. I have built my body specifically for your kind."

"No, that's not possible." She denied the thought and the moment she did she noticed again her body before the mirror and then the view began to shrink. "NO!" She screamed but to no avail. And then she screamed again of the agonizing pain that coerced through her. And then everything became so distant. And all she could it is watch helpless to stop it.

Anubis Borg smiled darkly. "Finally, I am triumphant. The Borg will soon be mine. Those idiot Replicators have chased a ghost for months but soon when they change tactics and retrieve their precious Queen, well that would be their greatest mistake. Once I am plugged in my rein begins and the entire galaxy WILL BOW BEFORE ANUBIS."

First Prime appeared suddenly. It was obvious he had been running.

"Report," Anubis Borg turned to him.

"Milord," First Prime Aken acknowledged his master's new body. "They are here!"

"Finally," Anubis Borg exclaimed satisfied. "Prepare for battle."

Forty ships of the Pegasus and Young alliance alongside the city Storm and six Federation vessels exited hyperspace in the small star system. The jump had been most unpleasant and weird.

"What the hell was that?" Major Connor McKay exclaimed groaning from a strange pain. He did not expect an answer though. This experience through hyperspace has been the weirdest he had ever experienced.

"Something is wrong, Connor." Commander Keller exclaimed.

"No shit, Sherlock." He snapped still aching.

"That's not possible." She said ignoring his snarky comment.

"What?"

"According to the ship systems, we have travelled seven months and eleven days."

"WHAT?" Connor snapped out of his pain stupor. He checked the data but the truth was indeed ugly. He used the sensors to scan the area behind them and cursed under breath. It contained some kind of natural dilation field. He cursed again as he now knew how Dorothy must have felt while falling down the rabbit hole.

"Connor, we have a bigger problem now." Dr. Fraser's voice came through the com.

"Like what?"

"Anubis,"

"He's not a problem."

"Oh, yes, take a look."

Major Connor McKay looked at the screen and there his jaw froze. The main Ha'Tak vessel was now laced with Borg technology. It shone in an eerie black green.

"We are too late. He's done it."

"No," McKay shook head. "Not yet. He still has to connect to the Borg hive in order to have control over them. We can stop him here and now." He patched in every vessel and said. "This is it. The snake head has become the Queen but he has no control over the Borg. He has to pass through us for that. This is where we will stop him once and for all. Prepare for battle!"

The rally call got every ship battle ready. The Goa'uld borgified ship advanced on them menacingly.

"Fraser, Jackson, find a way to counteract that bloody dilation field behind us." McKay ordered.

"We are not astro-something you know." Dr. Fraser protested.

"No but you are smart enough to find those that are and to motivate them properly. If Anubis runs, we have no way of following him on time. I do not wish to spend another eight months in hyperspace thinking only four days have passed." And that was all they got for that conversation. Anubis' ship opened fire and the battle began.

The only good news for the allied forces was that Anubis had not yet upgraded his ship's systems but that was only a matter of time. All the SGC ships focused their attack on that Ha'Tak. The Starfleet vessels took on the other ships of Anubis's fleet.

The battle was fierce but defeating Anubis main ship proved to be close to impossible. The ancient drones this time were of no use as the enemy's ship was immune to them despite the different upgrades they had done to them. The only measures that did something were the different beam technologies but the shields of the enemy vessels were only slightly decreasing while their shields were dropping much quicker. Soon Anubis main ship managed to destroy the first two SGC ships.

"This is not working, Connor." Colonel Sheppard exclaimed. She was aboard the city of Storm.

"I noticed. That little git has upped his defenses." McKay remarked with frustration. "We need to focus our fire on single area of his shields. This way we will weaken them and possibly collapse them and then we will kick his new cybernetic ass."

While they discussed the strategy they lost another two ships. "Spread formation." McKay practically yelled. "Focus your beams onto this area of the shields and fire with everything we've got."

This gave some results. Anubis ship began losing shield power until the secondary systems kicked in and nullified their efforts. Meanwhile, Anubis destroyed another four ships.

"Where is Tolvin when you need him?" McKay mumbled. He began to realize that it was probably a bad idea to incorporate all kinds of weaponry on a single ship. It looked cool on the resume but currently impeded their efforts to properly attack. He made a mental note to fix that should they survive this one.

"McKay, we lost another six ships." Teyla informed. "And he's focused on us now."

"Colonel Sheppard, shields are down twenty percent." Lieutenant Lorne announced. "Shield integrity is at sixty percent, fifty, forty… "

"Protect Storm at all costs," McKay barked. "All ships, huddle up around Storm."

This helped a bit as Anubis was torn whom to attack first. But his hesitation did not last long.

"Geiss, if we survive this, I will personally flog you repeatedly."

"Get in line, Connor," Captain Dex echoed over the com.

The situation grew dire as Storm's shields were near collapse. What followed next neither Anubis nor the others could have anticipated. A ship appeared out of nowhere right between him and the allied fleet. The ship had a saucer, a wide secondary hull and two elongated nacelles.

The newcomer shot dozens of beams attaching themselves to the hull of the allied armada and before Anubis could even react all the ships vanished in a blink of an eye right before his eyes and his frustrated yell: "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO,"

PA Storm city, USS Enterprise F, USS Defiant, USS Star Admiral, USS Archer, USS Alliance, and the twenty six SGC ships that had survived the onslaught reappeared somewhere. It was unfamiliar space at first sight. The weird ship then released them from the energy beams and came about to face them.

Onboard, the Enterprise F, Captain Picard asked:

"Is everyone alright?" When he received the nods he turned to Commander Worf. "Mr. Worf, scan that ship."

Mr. Worf had already initiated the scan. "It is a cross field class ship. The registry number is NCC 10…"

"Captain," Commander Data interrupted. "They are hailing us."

"Open a channel." Captain Picard said. The registry number seemed very familiar. "This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the United Federation of Planets vessel USS Enterprise F."

The view screen had activated and a tall figure dressed in a blue uniform with bright blues eyes and flaying around his torso arms and the insignia of Starfleet replied.

"This is Captain Saru of the USS Discovery!"

To be continued… in the new story Masters and Gods!

I hope you enjoyed this long ride. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the reviews.

I apologize if at times the story seemed not to reflect correctly the Star Trek universe but I promise you everything that happened has its perfect explanation.

It seems it has taken me six years to finish and I am glad I was finally able to do so. I will try to have the new story or at least the first few chapters published soon!

Thank you for the incredible journey! And please do not forget to review.

Lordheaven!