[Shuttlecraft]

(Kaplan is a female officer.)
KAPLAN: The nebula's completely scrambling our navigational readings. I still can't get a fix on our position.
CHAKOTAY: Are you saying we're lost, Ensign?
KAPLAN: That depends what you mean by lost, sir.
CHAKOTAY: Lost as in you can't get a fix on our position.
KAPLAN: I'm sorry, sir.
CHAKOTAY: Try hailing Voyager again.
KAPLAN: No response. We must still be out of comm. range.
CHAKOTAY: Then we'll just have to navigate the old-fashioned way. Engage optical scanners.
KAPLAN: Aye, sir.
CHAKOTAY: I'm picking up an asteroid field at coordinates one one three mark seven. Record it.
KAPLAN: Er, sir. That asteroid field? It's the same one we passed two hours ago.
CHAKOTAY: Great. We're not only lost, we're flying in circles.
(Beeping.)
KAPLAN: It's a Federation hailing beacon, originating bearing three oh nine mark four. It's Voyager.
CHAKOTAY: Well, at least someone knows where we are.
KAPLAN: Setting a course.
(They arrive in orbit of a planet.)
CHAKOTAY: The signal's coming from the planet surface.
KAPLAN: Is it possible Voyager's landed?
CHAKOTAY: Sensor readings are sketchy. I'm detecting about eighty thousand humanoid life forms on the western continent, some rudimentary structures and technology, but no energy signature big enough to be a starship.
KAPLAN: I'm getting another hail. The signal's very weak, and it's definitely not being sent by Voyager.
CHAKOTAY: Try adjusting the bandwidth.
RILEY [OC]: Calling approaching Federation vessel. We need your help urgently.
CHAKOTAY: This is Commander Chakotay of the Starship Voyager. Please identify yourself.
RILEY [OC]: I'm not reading you. Federation vessel, please respond.
KAPLAN: We lost them, sir.
CHAKOTAY: They've identified us as a Federation ship.
KAPLAN: Who would know that?
CHAKOTAY: Whoever they are, they're asking for our help. Launch a message buoy letting Voyager know we've landed in response to a distress call.

[Settlement]

(Night. Fires burn in makeshift braziers.)
KAPLAN: This place looks like a war zone.
CHAKOTAY: I can't pinpoint the source of the transmission.
(Four armed figures step out from the metal structures.)
KAPLAN: Commander.
CHAKOTAY: I'm Commander Chakotay of the Starship Voyager. We're responding to a distress call. We're looking for whoever it was who asked for our help.
KAPLAN: Commander!
(One figure raises his weapon, and Kaplan pushes Chakotay aside. Everyone takes cover and starts shooting. Kaplan gets hit, then Chakotay is jumped from behind. They struggle, and Chakotay knocks out his attacker. One person carefully aims his weapon and stuns Chakotay, but is then driven off by a new group arriving.)
ATTACKER: Come on.
ORUM: Take him inside.
(Chakotay is dragged away, and his hand phaser retrieved.)

[Bunker]

(Chakotay wakes up face down on a bed. He has nasty bruises on the right side of his forehead. A woman with long blonde hair speaks.)
RILEY: I'd lie still if I were you. You've got a nasty head injury.
CHAKOTAY: You're human.
RILEY: My name's Riley Frazier. What's yours, Commander?
CHAKOTAY: Why did you attack us?
RILEY: Those weren't my people. I'm the one who sent the distress call. We rescued you.
CHAKOTAY: What did you do with Kaplan?
RILEY: Your Ensign? She didn't make it. I'm sorry.
CHAKOTAY: I've got to get back to my shuttle.
RILEY: Your shuttle isn't there any more. The people who attacked you have already pulled it apart. Relax, Commander. I'm here to help you.
CHAKOTAY: How did
RILEY: How did I get here? I could ask you the same question. I was pretty surprised when I picked up a Federation ship out there. Not that I wasn't happy about it.
CHAKOTAY: It's a long story. Why don't you go first.
RILEY: Seven or eight years ago, I was working as a science officer on a vessel in the Bolian Sector. We were attacked without warning by aliens. They overpowered us in minutes and those of us who survived were put in some kind of stasis. The next thing we knew, we were here on this planet. It didn't take too many hours of stargazing to realise we weren't in the Alpha Quadrant any longer.
CHAKOTAY: There are other humans here?
RILEY: Three that I know of, besides me. What was left of my crew. Along with some Klingons, Cardassians, Romulans, and dozens of other species I'd never seen before.
CHAKOTAY: And the ones who put you in stasis?
RILEY: I don't know. They must have had some kind of colony here at some time because of the ruined buildings and equipment they left scattered around. We've never seen them again. Everyone here has pretty much the same story. They were just grabbed from wherever they happened to be, and dumped.
CHAKOTAY: Why did those people kill Kaplan? We were no threat to them.
RILEY: There are dozens of different races on this planet, all of whom were brought here against their will. Many of them are suspicious of other species. It's not exactly a United Federation around here, if you know what I mean.
CHAKOTAY: So those kind of attacks, they go on all the time?
RILEY: Resources are pretty limited. It didn't take long for the fighting to start. At first a group of Klingons attacked the Cardassians, then the Farn raided the Parein. Eventually things just got out of hand, and now it's anarchy. But some of us, a few hundred or so, we've tried to make the best of it. We've established a cooperative, sharing work and whatever provisions we have.
CHAKOTAY: I've got to contact my ship.
RILEY: The raiders destroyed the communications array. It'll take days to fix it.
CHAKOTAY: I can help you.
RILEY: Our medic examined you. You suffered serious neural trauma. You're staying put. And that's an order, Commander.

Captain's log, stardate 50622.4. While Commander Chakotay scouts for a faster route through the Nekrit Expanse, we are continuing our month-long journey through this sparsely populated region.

[Bridge]

PARIS: You know, they ought to rename this region the Negative Expanse. We haven't run across anything interesting for days.
JANEWAY: If you're bored, Mister Paris, I'm sure I can find something else for you to do. The warp plasma filters are due for a thorough cleaning.
PARIS: Now that you mention it, Captain, I find this region of space a real navigational challenge.
TUVOK: I believe I may have found something else to pique Mister Paris's interest, Captain. It's an unidentified ship on long range sensors.
JANEWAY: What sort of ship?
TUVOK: Sensor readings are very limited, but the vessel appears to be stopped directly in our current flightpath.
JANEWAY: Harry, send a standard greeting.
KIM: Aye, Captain. They're not responding.
JANEWAY: Try retransmitting the hail on wideband subspace.
KIM: Still no response.
TUVOK: We are entering visual range.
JANEWAY: On screen.
(The faint image of a large dark cube can just be made out against the black of space.)
PARIS: The Borg.
JANEWAY: Red Alert! All stop, shields to maximum, standby all weapons. Tuvok, are they scanning us?
TUVOK: Curious. None of the Borg systems appears to be operational.
KIM: He's right, they're adrift.
PARIS: Maybe they're trying to lull us into a false sense of security.
TUVOK: That would not be consistent with typical Borg tactics.
JANEWAY: I want to try a multiphasic scan. Tom, stand by to get us out of here in case they react.
PARIS: Aye, Captain.
JANEWAY: Proceed, Mister Kim.
KIM: I'm not picking up any active energy signatures. And no life signs.
PARIS: Well, that's a relief.
TUVOK: Perhaps. However, we should avoid complacency. The Borg are known to retrieve their damaged technology. It is quite possible we will encounter additional Borg vessels which are fully manned and powered.
JANEWAY: That's exactly why we're going to board that ship.
TUVOK: Captain?
JANEWAY: This is a rare opportunity to learn as much as we can about Borg technology.
TORRES: I might be able to get one of their data nodes running and find out what disabled their ship.
JANEWAY: If we're lucky, we may find a weakness we can use against them, in case we run into one of their fully manned and powered ships. Tuvok, assemble an away team. Tom.
PARIS: Yes, Captain.
JANEWAY: Take us into transporter range.

[Bunker]

RILEY: We grow all our own food in the cooperative garden.
CHAKOTAY: It's delicious.
RILEY: Sorry there's no meat.
CHAKOTAY: No problem. I'm a vegetarian.
RILEY: Really? I have reoccurring dreams about my mother's famous Texas barbeque. So, your journey home. How much longer do you expect it will take you?
CHAKOTAY: About sixty seven years, provided we don't find a wormhole or some other faster way of getting back.
RILEY: Haven't you ever thought about finding some nice M-class planet and putting down roots?
CHAKOTAY: We'd be missing an incredible opportunity to explore unknown space. Besides, we've made a good life for ourselves on Voyager. I'm sure Captain Janeway would be amenable to take as many of your people with us as we can accommodate.
RILEY: Take us with you?
CHAKOTAY: I assumed that's why you sent the distress call.
RILEY: You misunderstood. We want to stay.
CHAKOTAY: But you were brought here against your will. You just said how dangerous it is.
RILEY: For better or worse, this place has become our home. The people in the cooperative, they're like my ancestors. Texas homesteaders.
CHAKOTAY: I can understand that, but
RILEY: We have a deep connection to one another that I've never felt before. Not even with members of my own family. I guess it's because of what we've all gone through together.
CHAKOTAY: What about those unfriendly neighbours of yours?
RILEY: We're been able to bring a few of them into our group, but you're right, they're a problem. That's why we want your help. Security upgrades, medical supplies, maybe some weapons. We're creating a society here, one that's based on tolerance, shared responsibility and mutual respect that people like you and I were raised to believe in. We're not about to give it up because it's difficult. I'd better get back to work on the communications array.
CHAKOTAY: I'll come with you.
RILEY: No. You're still in no shape to fight if we're attacked. I'll be back to check on you soon.

[Borg Cube]

TORRES: It's like a ghost ship.
TUVOK: Allowing yourself to become apprehensive can only be counterproductive, Lieutenant.
TORRES: I'm not being apprehensive, Tuvok, I'm just nervous as hell. This is one of the access nodes. If we can get it operational I should be able to tap into the main data systems. Tuvok, there should be a compatible micropower conduit somewhere in that module. Connect it to this generator.
(Tuvok moves some hoses apart and a Borg falls forward.)
TUVOK: Lieutenant.
TORRES: It's dead.

[Briefing room]

TUVOK: As far as we can tell, all activity on the Borg ship ceased abruptly five years ago.
TORRES: Our scans have detected eleven hundred corpses.
TUVOK: We located a breached section of the vessel where the spatial vacuum preserved several of the bodies perfectly.
TORRES: We brought one aboard. We're hoping that an autopsy might give us some clue as to what killed them.
JANEWAY: The question is, why have the Borg left one of their ships and all it's technology adrift in space for anyone to find?
TUVOK: It is possible that the deactivation of the ship and it's systems severed the link with the rest of the Collective.
KIM: But what caused the shut-down in the first place?
TORRES: It could have been some kind of natural disaster, or
KIM: Or what?
TORRES: Maybe the Borg were defeated by an enemy even more powerful than they are.
JANEWAY: Tuvok, continue scanning for any Borg vessels in the vicinity, as well as any other ships that might be more powerful. B'Elanna, you and the Doctor get started on that autopsy. In the meantime, I think it would be a good idea to rendezvous with Commander Chakotay a little ahead of schedule, and let him know we've run into some old friends.

[Bunker]

(Chakotay tries operating the door controls, then knocks on the door itself.)
CHAKOTAY: Hello? Anybody there? Riley?
(He returns to the controls and finally hits the right ones. Sunlight streams in.)

[Settlement]

(There are people from many races here, all bald, some missing forearms. Chakotay sees a small group on the far side. One man with a Borg eye implant and cyborg forearm is working on another person with a metal plate at the back of their skull. That person turns around.)
CHAKOTAY: Riley? What are you? Are you Borg?
RILEY: We were Borg.
CHAKOTAY: You mean you weren't just kidnapped. You were assimilated by the Collective.
RILEY: At Wolf 359. I was a science officer aboard the Roosevelt. Five years ago, our ship was damaged by an electrokinetic storm. The next thing we knew, our link to the Collective was severed. We were free! We could think for ourselves again, remember our names, where we'd come from.
ORUM: It was like waking up from a long nightmare. We took what we thought we could use and transported ourselves here.
RILEY: Everything was new again. The sounds of our own voices, forgotten memories, the taste of food.
ORUM: Our original skin pigmentation began to come back. Many of us were able to remove our Borg appendages.
RILEY: I was even lucky enough to get a prosthetic arm Orum created using Borg replication equipment. In spite of how little we had it was a joyous, hopeful time.
CHAKOTAY: And then?
RILEY: After the euphoria wore off, people started looking around and found they were living among other cultures they didn't understand, or worse, species they'd been taught to hate. They turned against one another. Things became chaotic.
ORUM: The fighting, the raids.
RILEY: But we're not all like that. Everything I told you about forming a cooperative, building a new society, I meant it.
ORUM: Riley is telling the truth, Commander Chakotay. Look at me. I was Romulan. I was taught to hate humans, the Federation. But Riley and I are friends now. I'm part of the cooperative.
RILEY: Orum's our medic. He's the one who examined you.
CHAKOTAY: Why didn't you tell me all this in the first place?
RILEY: I know how people feel about the Borg, and they're right. We did terrible things.
CHAKOTAY: You'd been assimilated. You weren't in control of your actions.
RILEY: Then you'll still help us?
(Chakotay's eyes roll back, and he staggers. Orum catches him.)
ORUM: I think right now it's Commander Chakotay who needs our help.

Captain's log, supplemental. We've detected a message buoy launched from Chakotay's shuttle and are heading toward it. The autopsy of the Borg corpse is underway.

[Sickbay]

EMH: I must say, there's nothing like the vacuum of space for preserving a handsome corpse. Subject's abdominal organs are unremarkable. Pulmonary system exhibits evidence of extensive alveolar damage, as well as a slight swelling consistent with exposure to space. Ah, in addition there are signs of severe cardiac depolarisation.
KES: Sounds like he was electrocuted.
EMH: Very good, Kes.
TORRES: That would support our theory about what happened aboard their ship. We think that their main power conduits were overloaded by a massive electromechanical discharge.
EMH: Hmm. This is intriguing.
TORRES: What do you think that is?
EMH: It may be some kind of axonal amplifier. Kes, hand me a cortical probe.
(The EMH activates the probe and pokes it into the implant. The Borg activates and sits up.)
TORRES: Shut it down!
(The EMH uses the probe again.)
TORRES: What the hell happened?
KES: Is it still alive?
EMH: Of course not. Apparently, I inadvertently activated a backup neuroelectric power cell. The response was purely autonomic. There's no reason for concern.
TORRES: I wouldn't be so sure about that.
EMH: What do you mean?
TORRES: That autonomic response caused this drone to reset back to it's original programming. If the rest of those corpses somehow reactivate, we have a major problem on our hands.

[Bunker]

ORUM: I'm afraid he's getting worse.
RILEY: There must be something we can do for him.
ORUM: You know better than anyone how limited our medical resources are. As far as I'm concerned, there is only one option.
RILEY: Would it be safe?
CHAKOTAY: Would what be safe?
ORUM: As I'm sure you're aware, the Borg collective consciousness is extremely powerful. It allowed us to transfer information instantaneously, to think with one mind. But what you may not be aware of is the link also has inherent medical applications.
CHAKOTAY: Medical applications?
ORUM: We were connected by a continuous neuroelectrical field that was capable of regenerating the damaged components of an injured Borg.
RILEY: Think of it as a subspace transfusion, only instead of one person giving blood there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of donors simultaneously transmitting neuroelectric energy to whoever needed it.
ORUM: This process was often successful in healing both organic and inorganic body parts.
CHAKOTAY: This is all very fascinating, but I don't see how it helps me.
RILEY: We still have Borg neural processors implanted in our nervous systems. Removing them would have killed us.
CHAKOTAY: I see.
RILEY: Using a portable neural transponder we have the ability to re-link our brain patterns.
CHAKOTAY: I thought you said the link was severed.
RILEY: It was.
ORUM: But we can reinitiate it among a small group for a short time. We could generate a neuroelectric field that could heal your injuries.
CHAKOTAY: You want to hook up my mind to some Borg collective!
RILEY: No, that's not it at all.
ORUM: We'd be in complete control. You'd simply be linked for a limited period of time to Riley, me, and a few of the others in our group willing to help you.
CHAKOTAY: I'm not letting anyone implant some neural processor in my brain.
ORUM: That wouldn't be necessary. I'd simply attach a small neural transceiver to the base of your skull. We'd initiate the link and your transceiver could be removed as soon as the procedure was over. I assure you, other than repairing neural tissue, there would be no lasting effects.
CHAKOTAY: Thanks, but I don't think so.
RILEY: I can see why you're sceptical. I would be too. Look around you. Orum and I, all the others, we're individuals. We have distinct personalities. We're not about to turn you into some kind of automaton.
CHAKOTAY: I'll take my chances and wait for Voyager.
ORUM: I'm afraid that help may come too late, Commander. If we don't do something to slow the neural degradation immediately, you will die.
(Later, a small group has gathered at Chakotay's bedside.)
RILEY: Chakotay, you have to make a decision.
CHAKOTAY: Any sign of Voyager?
RILEY: No. I can't change who we are. I wasn't truthful with you before and I'm sorry. But please, believe me when I tell you we only want to help you. Orum will take every precaution. Please, at least let us try and save you.
CHAKOTAY: It's either that or the Happy Hunting Grounds, huh?
RILEY: Okay, then?
ORUM: This is the neurotransceiver.
(He places the small device at the back of Chakotay's head.)
RILEY: Don't be afraid, Chakotay. We're here to help you.
COOPERATIVE [OC]: Open your mind to our thoughts and concentrate on getting well. Hear our voices, open your mind to our thoughts. Our collective strength can heal you. You're safe with us. Feel the connection. We're with you. See who we are. Know us. You are not alone. Our strength is your strength. We can overcome your pain. We welcome you into our thoughts. There's nothing to fear, we won't let you die. We're all one circle, no beginning, no end.
(Chakotay sees some of Riley's memories. An attacking Cube, horses running free on a ranch, bluebonnets, her grandfather, the battle of Wolf 359, the Klingon homeworld. Much later -)
RILEY: How do you feel? Don't worry, it's gone. It looks like the treatment worked. Orum says the degraded tissue has shown marked improvement.
CHAKOTAY: It was incredible.
RILEY: I know.
CHAKOTAY: I heard all of you, your thoughts inside my head, as if they were my thoughts. And I could see myself through your eyes.
RILEY: Then you must have caught me staring.
CHAKOTAY: I saw faces, planets. What were they?
RILEY: Images from the minds of the people who linked with you. Memories of their families, their homes.
CHAKOTAY: I know things about all of them, about you. You like bluebonnets.
RILEY: My favourite flower.
CHAKOTAY: You used to pick them back home in Texas with a man who carried a walking stick.
RILEY: My grandfather.
CHAKOTAY: I know so much about you.
RILEY: We shared a very rare experience.
(Riley strokes her own cheek.)
CHAKOTAY: I felt that.
RILEY: What about this?
(She strokes her inner arm.)
RILEY: It's a residual effect from the link.
CHAKOTAY: How long will it last?
RILEY: An hour, maybe two. Long enough. [OC] Can you still here what I'm thinking?
CHAKOTAY: Yes.
RILEY [OC]: Then you know I want to be closer to you. I want us to know everything about each other. I want you to feel everything I feel.

[Bridge]

TUVOK: According to the buoy, Commander Chakotay and Ensign Kaplan landed on the surface in response to a distress call three days ago.
JANEWAY: Can you locate the shuttle?
TUVOK: There's no sign of it anywhere on the planet.
JANEWAY: What about their comm. badges?
KIM: I'm only picking up one signal. It's in a heavily populated region. The signal's very weak.
JANEWAY: Voyager to Commander Chakotay, do you read? Ensign Kaplan, this is Captain Janeway. Come in.
KIM: Electrodynamic turbulence from the nebula's interfering with transmission. It's going to take me a while to clear it up.

[Settlement]

(After the lovemaking, Chakotay is mending the communications array.)
CHAKOTAY: Hand me that hyperspanner. There, that should at least get the short range transmitters operational. Now, if we can get the signal amplifiers online.
RILEY: I never would have figured you to be quite so handy with a circuitry panel.
CHAKOTAY: Well, I guess you haven't learned everything about me, have you.
ORUM: Commander, I just wanted to say how grateful to you we all are.
CHAKOTAY: You're the ones who saved my life.
ORUM: But you've added so much to the cooperative. A renewed sense of hope, an infusion of energy. You have no idea how invigorating it was to have a new mind in the link, even if it was only for a short time. There have been so few of us for so long, I. Well, I'll let you two get back to work.
CHAKOTAY: I was so resistant to being linked. Now I'm almost sorry it's over.
RILEY: I know.
CHAKOTAY: Last night when we were still connected, I realised what it is you really want from us. It's more than just supplies and security upgrades.
RILEY: That's right.
CHAKOTAY: It's a pretty radical concept.
RILEY: Sometimes radical problems require radical solutions.
ORUM: Riley! Commander Chakotay! We've detected a ship in orbit. It must be Voyager.
RILEY: I hope you'll at least discuss our idea with your Captain.
CHAKOTAY: Why don't you tell her about it yourself?

[Briefing room]

RILEY: We've given it a great deal of thought, and we believe the solution to our problem is to re-establish the neural link among all the former Borg living on the planet.
JANEWAY: You can't be serious.
CHAKOTAY: I know it sounds extreme, Captain, but I think you should hear her out.
JANEWAY: All right.
RILEY: If you think about it, Captain, when we were linked we had no ethnic conflict. There was no crime, no hunger, no health problems. We lived as one harmonious family.
JANEWAY: With all due respect, Doctor Frazier, you were one harmonious family bent on the violent assimilation of innocent cultures.
RILEY: But we're not Borg anymore, and we've learnt from our past. All we want to do is take the one good thing that existed in the midst of all that horror, our unique ability to cooperate and problem solve, and use it to create a safe and productive community.
JANEWAY: Tell me how, exactly.
RILEY: The neurotransponder we've built is only powerful enough to link a small group of people, like the one that healed Chakotay's wounds. In any case, the effect is only temporary. In order to re-connect the entire population permanently we'd need a much bigger neuroelectric field generator.
JANEWAY: I'm afraid we don't have anything like that.
RILEY: But the Borg Cube does.
CHAKOTAY: What they're asking us to do is reactivate that ship's neuroelectric generator and redirect it toward the planet.
JANEWAY: They want us to reactivate a Borg ship?
RILEY: Not the whole ship, just the generator. And it only needs to be operational for a few minutes in order to reactivate the link.
JANEWAY: There's no telling what would happen if we turned on one of those generators, even for an instant. For all we know it would attract other Borg vessels.
RILEY: Captain, I can assure you we'd take every precaution.
JANEWAY: Doctor Frazier, I admire your tenacity, I respect your courage. I'll give you medical supplies, I'll assist you with upgrading your security, I'll even take some of you with us if you want to come, but, as to what you're proposing, I have to tell you I'm extremely sceptical. In fairness however, I will give it some further thought.
RILEY: Thank you.
(Riley leaves with a security guard.)
JANEWAY: What do you think?
CHAKOTAY: If you're asking me whether or not she's sincere, I have to say yes.
JANEWAY: You got to know them very well.
CHAKOTAY: That's an understatement. I heard their thoughts, felt their feelings, saw through their eyes.
JANEWAY: And in all the time you were linked you never sensed anything negative? No hidden agenda, no destructive intent?
CHAKOTAY: No.
JANEWAY: Bottom line. Do you think we should do what they're asking?
CHAKOTAY: I really care about what happens to these people, so in my heart I'd like to do everything we can to help them. But if I were sitting in your chair, I'd have to take other considerations into account.
JANEWAY: Not only would it mean imposing a choice on thousands of people who had no voice in the decision, but it would also be taking a terrible risk. Helping to create a new collective. Who knows what the repercussions might be?
CHAKOTAY: I'll let Riley know.

[Settlement]

(Other crew are also on the planet.)
CHAKOTAY: I'm afraid her decision was final.
RILEY: I wish it weren't, but I expected as much.
CHAKOTAY: What about the raiders? How long do you think you can hold out against them?
RILEY: Well, we'll just have to do the best we can. Who knows. Maybe we'll find some other way to get to the cube and reinitiate the link.
CHAKOTAY: Come with us.
RILEY: Chakotay.
CHAKOTAY: We could replicate some Texas Barbeque. I'm sure it won't compare to your mothers, but I think
RILEY: Don't think it's not tempting, but my place is here. I know you understand.
CHAKOTAY: I've never understood anyone better in my life.
NEELIX: Well, we're finished laying in the supplies.
RILEY: Thank you, Neelix.
TORRES: We'd better get going.

[Shuttlecraft]

TORRES: Are you okay? What you need is a good thrashing on the hoverball court to take your mind off things.
CHAKOTAY: You're on.
TORRES: Good. I'll reserve some holodeck time as soon as we're back.
COOPERATIVE [OC]: Chakotay, can you hear us?
CHAKOTAY: Did you say something?
TORRES: No.
CHAKOTAY: Are you getting a comm. transmission?
TORRES: No. Why?
CHAKOTAY: It must have been my imagination.
TORRES: You're sure you're okay?
CHAKOTAY: I'm fine.
COOPERATIVE [OC]: Chakotay, we need your help.
TORRES: Chakotay?
COOPERATIVE [OC]: We need your help.
TORRES: I'm going to tell the Doctor he needs to take a look at you as soon as we're back. Torres to Sickbay.
CHAKOTAY: Don't do that.
(Chakotay points a phaser at Torres.)
TORRES: Chakotay, give me the phaser.
(He shoots her.)

[Bridge]

TUVOK: Captain, Commander Chakotay's shuttle has changed course.
JANEWAY: Try hailing them.
KIM: No response.
TUVOK: They are increasing speed to maximum impulse.
JANEWAY: Tom, lay in a pursuit course. Tell Neelix we'll rendezvous with his shuttle later.

[Shuttlecraft]

COOPERATIVE [OC]: Chakotay, transport to module forty seven omega.

[Bunker]

COOPERATIVE [OC]: The bunker is under attack. Forty seven omega, section nine. Mark coordinates. We are under attack. Nine alpha alpha. We must hurry. The bunker is under attack. Forty seven omega, section nine. Mark coordinates. We are under attack.
(Their enemies are battering at the bunker door.)

[Borg Cube]

(Chakotay beams aboard the Cube.)
COOPERATIVE [OC]: Proceed to interlink console three beta six. Hear our thoughts. Our thoughts are one. Interlink three beta six. Proceed to interlink console three beta six. Hear our thoughts.
(Chakotay is not alone.)
TUVOK [OC]: Check this area out. This way.
COOPERATIVE [OC]: Lower right panel. Attach power conduit one six six. Hurry. Pathway pi two. We are under attack. Pathway pi two. Activate the neuroelectric generator. Quickly. Power serving mechanism. Activate the generator. Help us. We must activate the neuroelectric generator now. Chakotay. We need your help. Losing time.
TUVOK: Commander, take your hand away from that console or I will be forced to fire.
COOPERATIVE [OC]: You must not let them stop you. You must do this.
(Chakotay shoots at Tuvok, Kim returns fire and hits him.)
COOPERATIVE [OC]: You must move power circuit mechanism alpha to position one.
(Chakotay does it before he passes out. The Cube lights up.)

[Settlement]

COOPERATIVE [OC]: Hear our voices. We welcome you into our thoughts. Feel the connection.
(The attack stops.)

[Borg Cube]

(Borg reactivate.)
TUVOK: Mister Kim.
KIM: Voyager, Emergency beam-out!

[Bridge]

PARIS: Chakotay, B'Elanna and the away team are all back, and we've tractored in the shuttle.
JANEWAY: Take us out of here slowly.
PARIS: Captain, the Borg ship is powering weapons.
JANEWAY: Mister McKenzie, full power to the shields. Arm all phaser banks and prepare to fire.
KIM: Captain, the Borg ship has initiated a self-destruct sequence. It'll go in three seconds.
JANEWAY: Get us out of here.
(The Cube goes KaBOOM!)
JANEWAY: Report.
KIM: Shields are holding. No injuries or hull damage.
PARIS: What the hell happened back there?
KIM: Audio transmission, Captain, from the planet surface.
JANEWAY: Let's hear it.
COOPERATIVE [OC]: We are the new cooperative. We have destroyed the Borg ship. We regret that we forced Commander Chakotay to assist us but it was necessary for our survival. His link with the cooperative has now been severed. Our lasting gratitude.

[Sickbay]

EMH: His neuropeptide levels have returned to normal.
JANEWAY: And there are no residual traces of the link?
EMH: None.
JANEWAY: How were they able to re-establish a connection?
EMH: My best guess is that the residual neuropeptides heightened his telepathic receptivity.
JANEWAY: I thought their limited equipment made it impossible to form the link over great distances?
TUVOK: Apparently, once they repaired the communications array, they were able to magnify the signal from their neurotransponder.
JANEWAY: Would you two please excuse us?
(The EMH and Tuvok leave.)
CHAKOTAY: I don't know what to say except I'm sorry.
JANEWAY: Based on what the Doctor's told us it's clear you were acting against your will.
CHAKOTAY: Maybe so. But somehow that doesn't make me feel any better. I helped them repair the communications array, and I told you they were sincere.
JANEWAY: You know, Chakotay, that's a part of who you are. Given everything you believe in, I don't see how you could have behaved differently.
CHAKOTAY: But I couldn't have been more wrong about them, could I?
JANEWAY: I don't know. I'm not saying I'm happy about what happened, but so far they haven't acted like typical Borg. They saved us from that Cube, and they let you go.
CHAKOTAY: But they didn't hesitate to impose their collective will on me when it served their interests, did they?
JANEWAY: No, they didn't.
CHAKOTAY: I wonder how long their ideals will last in the face of that kind of power.