Sa'ren Part II

Resistance is Futile!

---

 

Federation System Alpha Centauri

 

Star: Alpha Centauri A

Planet: AC-A 2

Deep underground, the two men patrolled the corridors of the base. They were quietly talking, looking forward to that evening's entertainment when the three 'special guests' would be 'fixed' for the third time. It still amazed them at their healing abilities, but it did allow all in the base to have this yearly fun. The 'fun' also made a good example to the slaves they had working ceaselessly for them. You cannot ask for more from an evening's entertainment, they eventually laughed.

They passed the brig and laughed some more before continuing with their patrol.

Yes, Joseph Malvya knew what he was doing; all the time, it seemed.

Inside the brig, the laughter was understandably absent. The focus of the merriment were three boys in three separate cells, all adjacent to each other. They were triplets, as alike as you could get without being the same person; and fear was upon their faces, for they knew as well as their captors that this night was the night.

More terrible pain. More agony as their privates were once again removed from their bodies.

Why were they ever given the gift of rejuvenation, they would never know. Other than to satisfy the sadistic pleasures of their captors, that is.

The boy in the middle cell raised his head at the sound of laughter and spat on the floor. "Fuckers," he whispered.

"Seth, you need to calm your mind. It's hurting us," the boy on the left said as he rubbed his head. "You know what they'll do to us if they find out we can mind-talk, and your anger is making us hurt!"

"You're right," Seth answered as he brushed at the sudden tears in his eyes. "You've always been right."

"Well, I'm the oldest. I have to be," the boy giggled, but there was no mirth in the laugh.

"Oh, shut up, Cain," the third boy groaned. "You're not helping."

"Nor are you, Abel!" Cain said. "We must keep calm. He won't let us remain here much longer."

"It's been two years," Abel sighed. "Do you really think Father will find us, now? Anyway, I think he meant for this to happen."

"Don't say that," Seth said hoarsely. "Don't lose hope in Father. He'll come."

"When?" Abel taunted. "Once we've had our dicks regrown and cut off another ten times? We have to get OUT of here!"

Cain jumped to his feet in fury, "We've TRIED, you jackass. What else are we to do? Cast a spell? Click our heels together and say 'Take me home, Toto'? What?"

Abel couldn't respond, for Cain's fury was rippling through his mind and through Seth's.

Cain did not notice. What he did notice was the increase in power he seemed to be getting through his fury. He turned away from the faces of his brothers – faces streaked with tears of pain at the anger in their minds from himself – and looked at the forcefield door. He felt a growing sensation behind his ears, it seemed. A pushing. As if something wanted out. In unmitigated anger, he yelled at the doorway – and the pushing rushed from him. He heard Seth and Abel slump to the floor in exhaustion, and he felt his own knees tremble...

... but the forcefield shattered into sparks and collapsed.

He jumped through the door just as the alarms started to sound. How had he done that? What was that power?

Knowing he didn't have the time for self-examination, he ran over to Seth's door and tried it again. Nothing. It was as if a trip switch had been thrown in his head, and the sensations were just not present.

"What the fuck did you do?" Seth bellowed at him, anger in his face. Then the boy saw that Cain was outside of his cell. "Wha? How?"

"Come on, shitface," Cain taunted, hoping that anger was the trigger. "I did it. Just scream at the door and get out – or are you a chicken and a weak, limp dick as well as a shitface."

Seth lunged for the door, yelling his fury, and his own shield fell a second before he touched it. Thus, he ended up with his hands latched around Cain's throat.

'Let go, idiot! I needed you angry... you're free! Let go!' Cain sent in a rush, for Seth was choking the air from his lungs.

Seth dropped his hands as his energy and anger seemed to vanish. "How'd we do that?" he asked hesitantly.

"How isn't important," Cain answered as he rubbed his throat. "The guards will be here and we need Able!"

The sound of Abel's forcefield exploding stopped Seth from asking anything further. "I was always smarter than you two nutters," Abel said, as he brushed off his hands. "I watched what you did and copied you monkeys. Now. We need weapons – I don't have the strength to blow apart every soldier in this fucking base."

Cain swallowed his growing retort and nodded. "Here they come," he whispered as he felt minds approaching down the corridor outside. "Quick! Get into your cells and play dead, like we were hurt in the 'accident'!"

They did so, and seconds later, the door opened and four guards ran in with their disruptors pointing in all directions.

The captain of the guard pointed at the first cell, and told the guard on his right, "Check him, I'll take the next, and you," he pointing at the guard to his left, "check the last one. You stay at the door and cover us," he added to the final guard.

They moved in slowly, prodding the prone forms lying on the floor. When they had no response, they knelt down and started checking for life-signs. The captain muttered, "He's alive, at least. What about you tw... gurrrkkkk!"

Seth's hand shot out lightning fast and impaled itself through the captain's chest, just as both his brothers ripped opened the guards checking them.

"Stop! I said stop!" yelled the final guard by the door, but Seth had the captains disrupter and fired point blank at him, vaporising him in an instant.

"Now we have guns," Seth grinned. "Let's get out of here!"

"Do you know how to fly a shuttle, because I don't," Abel asked urbanely as he casually cleaned the blood and gore off of his hands on the dead guard's jacket.

Cain swore, "We'll work it out. Now get going. Seth, you're on point."

"Roger that... shit, these stupid things are well crap," he bitched as he studied his disruptor.

"They work, don't they?" Abel muttered as they reached the door of the brig and started checking the hallways. The siren was blaring loudly, and the flashing red lights along the walls bathed their faces in their eerie red glow.

"But no boom!" Seth snorted. "No recoil. Shit things."

"Just shut up and keep moving, or I swear you won't live to see our ninth birthday," Cain muttered as he poked his brothers in the ribs.

"It's only our eighth birthday today!" Abel retorted.

"Exactly... here come more..." he said calmly as he started firing at the approaching guards coming down the corridor.

---

Time: Non-existent

 

Location: Somewhere Else

He had waited and waited, time itself seeming to drag itself out. Nothing. No rescue, no Others.

He stood within the shelter of a small cave as the dark sky continued to lash lightning from horizon to horizon. The ring of mountains around the uneven plain of pitted rocks clawed at the energized sky, yet still offered nothing more than they had to his curious scan when he had arrived.

He had even walked the entire circumference twice, searching for a way out of the 'crater' the mountains created, but there was nothing.

And so he remained in the cave.

Alone.

So alone.

Then, something happened. A sparkle of light where none had been before. A transporter, yet not the same type as those of the Others.

Even from the distance he was at from the beam of energy, he recognised it. Subtle differences, but it was Federation technology.

He saw someone move and his right arm lifted slightly as two tubes flicked out and back into his skin without conscious control.

Maybe... just maybe...

He started to move from his cave and made his way down to the crater floor, and then started to walk towards the distant figure.

"Species 5618," he said as his scanner picked up the readings. Then he stopped walking. "Correction. Positronic Matrix detected. New species identified. Species designation, 10258: Human/android synthesis. Primary Directive to be followed..."

He began walking again, his movements now sure, for he knew that any new species should be examined fully. And for that, he would need to:

"Assimilate..." he murmured softly as an emotion stirred in his chest.

Hope.

Soon, he would not be alone any more.

He would have voices again.

"... resistance is futile..."

---

Main CIC, Orlando:

Sarek and Amanda sat with Joel on their laps as Dylan Chang talked with their grandson. The brave teen had even gone so far as to remove his half-mask to allow Joel's fingers to 'see' the damage to his face. Then, he talked and talked with the hurting child about how he had accepted his condition.

Kevin watched all this with loving eyes while he cuddled a sleeping Jules and Verne on the opposite sofa. The two ferrets had worn themselves out trying to discover Lee's secret of 'light-fitting hanging'. All to no avail, mind, for the clever chimp was always a step, or six, ahead of the two mischievous boys.

Kevin glanced up to see his son still swinging from the fitting, and seemingly napping as well. Shaking his head, Kevin went back to watching Joel interact with Dylan Chang.

Over by the door, Dan was talking with Antonio. "You said he went to the infirmary?" Dan asked.

'Tonio nodded, "Yes. He fell over Aslan and broke his thumb. He signalled he'd be back soon. Shall I call him?"

Dan nodded, "Yes. Daileass told me about something that had happened earlier this morning. Danny and Marc know, but I need to talk to Austin."

'Tonio smiled and tapped his comm, "Austin! Uncle Dan's wondering if you're healed up and able to chat with him."

A second or so later, Austin answered, "Just had the bone knitted back together. I'll have Seth beam me over."

"Lazy ass," 'Tonio giggled, making Dan burst out laughing.

"You're going swimming later," Austin threatened before dropping the call.

'Tonio giggled some more before pointing to Main CIC, "He'll be there soon."

"So I heard. I'd start running if I were you. What I have to say will give you about ten minutes lead time – if that!"

"I'm faster than that old lump," 'Tonio smirked, but did decide to up and leave through the nearest doorway at a dead run.

Shaking his head, Dan turned and walked into Main CIC, and overheard Seth say, "Transporting."

Dan watched as a beam of energy took form in the middle of the room...

---

Elsewhere:

Over and over, Vae'Za slammed his being against the crack, forcing more and more of his power-leeching self into it.

The shock waves radiated out and spilled forth into the Universe around his prison, as well as out and into many other Universes and Dimensions.

The timing was just right to interfere with yet another person using a transporter device – this time, not in a distant Universe, but in the one he was currently trapped in.

The end destination was the same, however.

Null-Space.

No-Time.

Vae'Za did not care.

He laughed instead once he realised just how close the newest victim was to the One's Champion...

---

Time: Non-existent

 

Location: Somewhere Else

Austin opened his eyes and shook his head. This wasn't right. This definitely wasn't Kansas any more.

Dull grey rocks. Dark, lightning lit sky. Tall, jagged mountains all around.

He tapped his comm, "Seth?"

Silence. Not even a beep from his comm-badge to say there wasn't a signal.

Nothing.

"Daileass? Draco?"

Nothing.

"Austin to any Clan member! Can anyone receive me?"

Again, nothing.

He turned and turned.

Nothing. As far as the eye could see, everything was the same.

All except for a small figure walking toward him from the mountains. North, south, east, west: meant nothing here. But that one figure... now that meant that at least he wasn't alone.

Maybe he or she had answers.

Austin checked his belt and found a small type 1 phaser. It was on full charge. Just in case. Then he too began to walk towards the approaching figure.

Distance seemed deceptive in this place, but Austin quickly saw that the figure walking directly for him was about his size...

... and definitely not human. At least, not entirely.

There was something very wrong with this figure. Its gait and movements seemed robotic, the face was slightly metallic, and the skin visible was grey with a green tinge. The figure's left eye was covered by an odd device that had a laser light fitting attached, and not a patch of hair could be seen on its mostly bald head. Its left arm was far longer than the right, and seemed to be all robotic with tools and attachments all over it. Slung over its back was an odd looking pack, and to top it all off, there were tubes that seemed to sprout from different areas of its body and embed themselves in other areas.

In short, a visual nightmare.

Austin stopped walking and got his small, palm sized phaser in his hands as a safety measure. He did not like the look that this thing was giving him as it drew to within ten feet. Then, it stopped walking.

"Who are you?" Austin asked guardedly.

The being gave no response for a second or so, then raised its left toolarm and a small device started emitting a small hum.

Austin raised his phaser. "Who are you, and what are you doing?" he demanded. "What is this place?"

"We are the Borg," the boy – for Austin could now tell it was a boy – stated. "We are the Borg. You will surrender yourself to us. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. You will adapt to service us."

Austin did not fully understand what the boy, this Borg, was going on about, but he was not even remotely interested in surrendering to or servicing anyone, thank you very much. "Do not take a step," he said as he backed up slightly and held his aim steady on the Borg.

The Borg tilted his head slightly as his sensors scanned the phaser in Austin's hand. Then, he started toward him and raised his right arm – with a semi-normal looking hand on it, unlike the other arm – and out of the back of his hand two tubes flipped out and lashed the air.

Austin did not waste a second. He fired, point blank.

The phaser did nothing other than vanish against a shield that appeared instantly around the stoic boy.

"Resistance is futile," the boy said as he continued to approach Austin. The android backed up and tripped on the uneven ground... and the Borg was upon him. Those tubes from the Borg's hand shot out and impaled Austin's neck, causing him to cry out in pain.

---

Main CIC:

"What do you mean, transport complete?!" Seth yelled into the comm.

The transporter chief on Terra Main answered, "All the lights are green, Clan Short. The buffers are empty and the read out is saying that the transport is successful. There has been no problem."

"Well, there is definitely a big fucking problem," Seth spat. "The beam started to appear, then it vanished. Austin isn't here!"

"Stand by. I shall inform my superiors and get some answers."

Seth spluttered at the comm as it went silent. "What the FUCK?!"

Dan was a little calmer than Seth, but only just. He tapped his own comm, "Ark – do you know where Austin is?"

<No, Dan. I can no longer find Austin anywhere on Earth.>

"Shit," Dan muttered. "Thanks, Ark."

<I will keep checking, however.>

"Thanks," Dan said as he turned and called for Gabe to haul ass into Main CIC.

Seth was still fuming at the console he was by. "I can't believe this! How can that chief be so blasé about all this?"

"Because his equipment is saying everything's fine," Dan answered in frustration. "If something had gone wrong, the transporter panel would have told him."

"Admiral Cartwright to Clan Short CIC."

"Receiving, Admiral," Seth answered quickly.

"Is this information I have in front of me correct? A transport of a Clan member did not produce the Clan member in your location?"

"Correct. The beam started, then it vanished with a shudder. Then nothing," Seth said slowly as he tried to hold onto his temper.

"This does not seem... I am assigning our best team of engineers immediately, and I will have a trace run on that transport. It is possible he materialized elsewhere. The readings are all... well, normal!"

"Trust us – he isn't on Earth," Dan said towards the mic.

"Who is speaking, please?"

"Dan Richardson."

"Understood. I will get on this as Priority One. Terra Main out."

"I don't... who's gonna tell Cory he's lost a son? OH SHIT! Who's gonna tell Leo and Conner??" Seth asked in horror.

Bryce popped in at that moment, "Me, Peter and Dylan are checking this, Uncle Seth. Something echoed through the dimension just as Uncle Austin was transporting... we're chasing him down, now."

Seth blinked and sighed, "How long do you think this will take?"

"Not long," Bryce smiled before he vanished again.

"Don't tell the boys, yet," Dan said as he took a seat next to Seth's wheelchair. "Give those angels the time they need..."

---

Time: Non-existent

 

Location: Somewhere Else

Austin looked out from the cave before turning back to the other boy. "Are you sure?"

"We are," the Borg answered. "It has been three hundred Earth years since we arrived. You will find that sustenance is not required."

Austin sat down again and wiped at his eyes.

"We are wondering, why do your eyes leak?"

Austin looked up at the small Borg, "Because, if you've been here that long, how long am I going to be?"

"Indefinitely," the boy answered. "Unless the Others find out where we have been sent. Do you have Others who would look for you? Your Collective?"

"I do," Austin murmured in answer. Then he smiled, "And I think my Collective has a better chance than yours."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because some of my brothers and their kids have powers to go wherever they want," Austin smiled as he absently rubbed at his neck. He looked at the Borg warily. "What was that thing you tried to do to me again?"

"We tried to assimilate you into our Collective."

"What would that have done?"

"Made you a part of us. Your thoughts and our thoughts would be one."

"Would I have looked like you?" Austin asked, his lip curling slightly as he looked at the grey/green skin of the boy's head and face.

"You would have developed some external sensors, and your skin tone would have changed. We are unsure why you are resistant to the nanoprobes. This has only happened with one other species."

"Which?"

"Species 8472. We cannot assimilate them, yet."

Austin nodded before looking away again. "I'm glad you couldn't."

"We are not."

Austin looked back up at him, "Why?"

"Because we are alone. There are no voices."

"Voices?"

"We always hear the voices, our Collective. We are never alone. Here, we are alone. We do not like this feeling."

"You're not alone any more. I'm here," Austin said, although after the attack he had suffered he wasn't sure why he was trying to comfort this boy – thing – it.

"No. We are alone. You are not here," the Borg said as he tapped the side of his head.

Austin glared at him before sighing. "Well, it looks like I might be here a while. I'm Austin Short. What's your name?"

"Name?"

"I'm Austin. It's my name. What do I call you?"

"Our designation is Nine of Twelve, Subset fifteen of Unimatrix 935, Cube 56233."

Austin groaned. "And I thought Bork had it bad! Your family use an encyclopedia to name you?"

"What is family?"

"Uh... a Collective."

"Our designation is where we are in the Collective. There are eleven Others in our section. We are ninth."

"Then I'll call you Nine," Austin said. "It's easier than all the rest of it."

"If you wish," 'Nine' answered. "Who is this Bork?"

"A brother," Austin smiled.

"What is 'brother'?"

"This could be a long chat, Nine of Twelve, Subset fifteen of Unimatrix 935, Cube 56233."

"You said you were designating us 'Nine'. Have you changed your programming?"

"God, give me strength!"

"What is God?"

---

Later:

"Five years?"

"Yes. Does asking a question five times in a row help with your understanding? We thought positronic brains were able to compute faster than the brains of Species 5618."

"Bite me."

"Are you sure this time, for the last time we did as you ordered, you shouted at us for twenty eight minutes, five seconds, twenty one..."

"It's just a saying!"

"Then it is an illogical saying. We are sure that your positronic net has been damaged due to your arrival. Federation technology is very limited."

"Nine, please... stop playing..."

"We like playing. It keeps you speaking. We like your voice."

"Thank you," Austin grinned, "I think."

"You like that joke too much," Nine replied with a soft smile. "We are wondering..."

"As if you ever stop wondering," Austin sighed as he smiled at his friend.

"Correct. We are wondering; of your Collective, is there a subnet that you will miss the most?"

Austin smiled weakly, "You just want me to talk about my brothers, sons and dads again, don't you?"

"That is correct."

Austin shook his head lightly. Then he sighed sadly, "Nine... I will tell you of the last couple of uncles that I got... but I want to sleep right now. I'm missing them a lot right now."

"Acceptable," Nine said softly as he stood and moved to sit slightly behind Austin. "Do you wish us to hold you again?"

"Yes please," Austin whispered as he moved back until his back was against Nine's chest. It was slightly uncomfortable due to the uniform the boy had on – which Austin was sure was physically attached to Nine – and some of the tubing that traced the boy's form; but Austin no longer cared. Somehow, the contact with Nine was all Austin really needed to feel better.

He wasn't alone.

Neither of them were.

---

Austin could no longer deny it.

His entire family were now dead. Even the Vifer. The number of years Nine had quoted to him was such that even a Vifer would have been long dead by now.

He wept in Nine's arms, and through the link he had long ago established with Nine's mind.

Nine comforted his friend as best he was able by starting to do what he normally did at such times; allowing Austin to hear the 'song'. All that Nine carried in his mind was the memory of the Others and their voices, the great song of voices. It brought him comfort when he remembered them. It seemed to do the same for his friend. And so he sang the song down their shared link.

That link had meant the world to Nine when the telepathic Austin had established it after the first fifty years had passed. During the time leading up to it, Austin had often spoken mind to mind with Nine, but this type of permanent link was something Austin had only worked out how to do after fifty years here.

Something to do with Species 3259 and their 'bond-links', those whom Austin called Vulcans.

Nine had never met a Vulcan but he thought he might like to... if any still existed after five million years.

He lowered his face and kissed Austin's hair softly. "I am here for you," he whispered. "I will not leave you alone."

Austin nodded his head against Nine's mostly bare chest.

In all that time, they had managed to get a few things changed. Nine now spoke more normally, although he did lapse back into 'Borg-speak' when he felt like it; and they had managed to remove most of the needless accessories on Nine, and even put what was in his pack to good use. The toolarm on Nine's left arm could be replaced with a replica hand attachment, thus giving the Borg a slightly more normal appearance. Austin had nearly been sick, however, when he first saw the joining point between the flesh and the synthetic.

Now, it was normal to him. It was what Nine was, and Austin had fallen in love with it, just as he had with Nine.

It was the same for Nine's left eye. It had not been needed by the Others, and so it was removed and the ocular scanner was fixed in place. Nine did have a substitute device that made him look more human as well – an eye attachment that matched his other, silver-coloured natural eye.

The rest of Nine was fairly normal. Gray/green skin with the veins showing up as very green against the skin's surface, but the tubes were not removable without extensive surgery. Not that they got in the way much, and they were growing on Austin too – in an emotional sense, of course. For some reason, the assimilation nanoprobes would not work in this 'place'. Nine had theorized that it was due to temporal disturbance, but that was a theory that they, in their present situation, could never prove nor disprove. Austin had even consented to undergo assimilation after the first hundred years, but not even his consent could allow the nanoprobes to work. Not that he had wished to lose his freedom, but he loved Nine that much, and Nine thought it was a nice offer, even if it had not worked.

Austin eventually pulled back and regarded Nine again, as waves upon waves of love poured down their link. "Thank you," he whispered.

Nine smiled at the naked android. "You are there for me. I am here for you. We are the only Collective we have. Family."

"Cute family too," Austin smiled weakly as he looked the naked Borg up and down.

"Is that a signal that... the itch?... the itch as returned?" Nine grinned.

"Yes..." Austin blushed.

"Then I shall assign the nanoprobes to lubrication mode again."

"Oh... do you two want some privacy?" Dylan giggled from the cave entrance.

"Dy... Dylan?!" Austin yelled as he jumped to his feet in shock. Nine was on his feet in a heartbeat as well, staring at the boy he only knew from Austin's memories. "Dilly?? Is that really you?" Austin blubbered as his emotions went into overdrive.

Dylan paused at the entrance, his face falling as he quickly scanned the obviously distraught android. "Shit! You've been here...?? REALLY?"

"Five million, six hundred and twenty nine thousand, four hundred and two years," Nine whispered as he reached out and grabbed Austin's right hand with his artificial left and squeezed tightly.

"CRAP!" Dylan exclaimed. "I need to let Peter and Bryce know I found you."

"Um... we know, Silly Dilly!"

It was Peter, as he and Bryce appeared behind Dylan, yet their smiling faces of relief quickly becoming ones of concern at the heightened emotions flaring in the cave.

"Oh... hell!" Peter exclaimed as he rushed forward and wrapped Austin in a hug. Then he scanned further and said, "HOW long?!"

"I must revise my statements," Nine said softly.

"Which?" Austin choked out.

"When I said that you needed to ask a question multiple times. I had teased you, thinking it was a faulty positronic matrix that they had given you. However, it seems to be endemic to your entire Universe. Or, more specifically, your entire Collective."

"Mostly," Austin whispered. "We just don't like bad news..." Then he continued to cuddle with Peter. "Man, am I glad to see you guys... it's just..."

"Just what, Austie?" Bryce asked as he and Dylan joined Peter in hugging the android.

"I wish you'd got here a long time ago... everyone's dead... all dead..." Austin wept.

Bryce was the first to realize what Austin was thinking, and he dropped into a very good impression of his Uncle JJ as he vocalized his thoughts. "Why the hell do you guys insist on using those damn transporters! There ain't no damn machine that is stable around time fluxes; especially not one that disassembles you! This shit sucks, you're all worried because of how long you think you're gone but you didn't know that you're on a weird time plane. The guys have been worried about you for a whole thirty minutes, Uncle Austie. Nobody's dead... except for whoever caused this. That person is going to be castrated repeatedly and painfully for doing this to you. I know Uncle Juan will help."

"I believe I would not like to witness such a repeated castration. It sounds most unpleasant," Nine whispered as he moved back from the boys crowding around Austin. Sadly, he looked at the boy that had been his only companion for most of his time here and said, "I hope you find your reunion with your Collective pleasing, friend. I shall hope my own comes for me as well. I will remember you."

Dylan looked at his Uncle's companion closely for the first time. "Hold on there. We don't abandon friends in my family. Give me a minute to check some things."

"Whatever happens, Nine," Austin said as he reached and grabbed Nine's hand, "you're sticking with me."

"Would not more lube be more advantageous rather than sticking?" Nine asked with a wicked smile as relief flooded through him. Being alone after close companionship for over five million years wasn't something he was looking forward to.

"We are the Clan," Peter giggled. "Lower your shields, or at least your pants, and surrender. We will add your uniqueness to our diversity. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile!" He smiled at Nine.

Austin looked at him as a blush mounted his cheeks.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Peter giggled again. "Austie already did that for you, didn't he, Nine?"

Nine smiled. "Often. Very often."

"NINE!" Austin blushed deeply.

"Yes?"

"Never mind," Austin sighed as he reached and hugged the boy that was so obviously his boyfriend tightly. "Never mind."

Dylan, who had popped away for a brief moment, returned with disgust. "I am NOT sending you back THERE, Nine. You're coming home with us." Then he looked around and caught up on what he had missed. He burst out laughing, "Soooo! Nine's gonna be stealing Cory's cowboy hat a lot? Uncle Austie? I'll make sure Sean lends you his saddle..."

Nine wondered why Austin suddenly tried to kill the small boy, but decided that it must be a new procedure within the Collective he was about to join. Instead of asking what the significance of the attempted murder was for, he turned to Peter. "How did you know what the Borg say? It was changed, but I recognise it as our standard opening statements."

"I was wondering that, myself," Austin said as he tried to throttle a giggling Dylan.

"Remember the guys from the other universe, that knew about Star Trek and the Clan?" Peter answered as Dylan slipped free from Austin and started running around his older brother. "In the Star Trek stories they ran into this cyborged Collective race called the Borg."

Austin stopped chasing the giggling Dylan and asked, "What about Joel? Does he know about Nine's people?"

"My people are Species 5618; human," Nine offered.

"I've always wondered about that number," Austin mused.

"Why did you not ask?"

"Because we had forever, and I didn't want to ask everything in the first million or so years."

"Understandable. Needless, but understandable."

"About Joel?" Austin asked again, looking at the laughing three boys around them.

Peter nodded as he wiped the tears of mirth from his eyes at the exchange between the couple. "Yes. Although in the state he's in, we have to break it to him gently."

"Why is that?" Nine asked. "I know he had been assaulted, for Austin has shared all he remembers with me, but why would he be afraid of me?"

"Because the Borg assimilate everything?" Peter said with mild sarcasm. "And Joel's a Vulcan. They are prized by the Borg, ain't they?"

"Yes, they are. But Austin has taught me that freedom is preferable to assimilation. I am not the Borg I once was."

"What's your name?" Bryce asked curiously. "I know you're called Nine now, but what was it before you were turned?"

"I was a 'Borg baby'," Nine stated as he grinned at Austin, "born into the Collective. I was born to two gifted human drones. I have never had a name." He then pulled Austin into the circle of his left artificial arm while he picked up his backpack containing his optional additions to his body with the other. "I believe we two are ready to leave this place; forever."

Bryce grinned at them, "I think you both have new 'designations' now."

"Oh?" Austin asked with a smile.

"One of Two and Two of Two," Dylan giggled cutely as he pointed to Nine and then Austin in turn.

Nine looked at Austin, then back at the three giggling Mikyvis, "Funny. I think."

Dylan rolled his eyes, "You're no fun... yet! Okay, hold on! Home we go!"

They all vanished, leaving the cave empty once more.

Then the world vanished, and a voice said:

//What you meant for evil, Vae'Za, I turned to good. Austin is whole, now and Nine is complete. The circle closes...//

---

Main CIC, Orlando:

Trip Tucker sat with Dan and Seth, while Jason, Nathan, Viccy and Riti – just returned from Utah – stayed close to Joel and Kevin, who had also come in to await the return of the Mikyvis or news from Admiral Cartwright. Jason and the other three had returned specifically to take up guard around Joel, for they still felt to blame for him getting hurt in the first place. Kevin had started off by just sitting next to Joel but not touching him. He would brush out with their bond-link every so often to just let Joel know he was there. After ten minutes of silent waiting, however, Joel had reached out and took Kevin's hand to hold.

Progress, Kevin thought with a sad smile.

Bryce and Peter appeared after about thirty three minutes had passed since the transporter incident. "Hey! We found them!"

"Thank GOD!" Seth exploded. Then he asked, "Wait... them? Who else?"

"Well, that's something we are goin' to need to explain a bit," Peter smiled as he went over and gently took Joel's hand, causing the boy to start slightly. "Sorry Joel. But you especially need to understand something about Austie's new friend."

"Oh?" Joel asked curiously. "Did he find a Horta or something? No, don't tell me – he rescued a ship full of Borg and they are wanting to join our 'Collective'?" he giggled softly.

"Not quite," Bryce said as he came over to lay his hand on the Vulcan's shoulder. "Just one Borg."

Joel stiffened.

"Don't worry," Peter said soothingly. "He's a nice Borg. He's nice because Austie made, uh... 'friends' with him. But there is a problem, guys," he added, looking around at the rest. "They were trapped in some weird place for over 5 million years. Austie's a little... strange, now."

Silence.

Joel broke it after a moment had passed, "Where are they now?"

"Silly Dilly is with them," Peter giggled, "so they'll be here soon."

---

In the shower room just off from the Rec Room in the CIC building, three figures appeared. Dylan giggled as he pushed Nine and Austin into the shower area, "After millions of years, you two STINK! Get a shower. I'll get some clothes for you!"

Austin wasn't complaining about the location of their arrival, but he did look at Dylan closely, "Clothes will be a problem for Nine."

"A robe for him for now," Dylan smiled. "Uncle Dr Bones, Uncle Dr Austin and 'Tonio can help him after so that he can look more like us. Then he gets clothes... but it would be a shame to cover up his cute butt!" the little imp added as he popped out of the room.

Nine tried to look back over his shoulder, "Is my posterior cute?"

"Very," Austin giggled as he pulled Nine into the shower more. "I approve of it. A very well formed, Borg-made butt. Pert and cute!"

"Then it is well that we are together, for I find your own 'butt' to be exceptionally well made," Nine stated. "Just the right fit for my..."

"Okay!" Austin giggled as he blushed five shades of red. "I get it! I get it!"

"No, but you will get it la..."

"NINE!"

"Sorry. I just hope that with the new Collective I am going to be a part of, I will still get to hear your voice the most."

"Like I'd ever let you out of my sight again," Austin purred as he pulled Nine into a hug and lip lock, while spinning the taps to get the water flowing.

Nine's first shower was amusing, all told. Austin made sure that every patch of skin was cleaned well, and all his metallic parts glowed after being dried and buffed up. "We want you looking the best, after all," he said to the smiling Borg boy.

Nine wasn't complaining at the attention at all. He had lavished enough on Austin himself to understand. "Will they like me?" he asked after a moment. "I am not cute like you. I have scars and metal and synthetics. Will I not scare them?"

Austin paused for a moment. "Well... not all. Maybe some of the little ones for a while, but I don't think they will be scared for long. I think mostly they'll be sad that you got 'hurt' to look the way you do."

Nine nodded slowly, then walked to his backpack that was lying near the door where Dylan had dropped it. He opened it and removed his toolarm and ocular attachment, and with Austin watching, he removed his left 'eye' and raised the ocular attachment up and fitted it in place. He removed his left lower arm with the 'hand', leaving the sore looking connection area just below his elbow. He then fitted the extended toolarm in its place before he turned to regard Austin carefully. "I believe it best to show them the worst first," he said simply.

Austin sucked in his breath, but did nod. "I love you no matter how you look," he said with a smile. He moved over and traced his fingers of the face section that covered the left side of Nine's forehead, cheek and back to his ear. The laser swivelled back and forth lazily as he did so. Where the eye should have been seen was a raised section with a green/blue holographic plate. The metal, strange and unknown to Austin, was a matte black.

"Come on," Austin smiled as he moved to the door.

"We are not dressed yet," Nine stated just as Dylan appeared.

Austin smiled. "If we're going for shock factor, then let them see all of you right away. Let them see you're still a normal boy under all that Borg stuff. Then we can get dressed."

"But why are you not? You do not have implants."

"But I'm your boyfriend," Austin said simply. "If you get paraded naked, so do I. And I'll make sure they keep their hands to themselves. You're mine!"

Nine smiled as Dylan popped away again, grouching about wasting time getting clothes for silly uncles.

---

After informing Admiral Cartwright of the recovery of Austin, Seth and the others from Main CIC moved into the Rec Room to wait for Austin and his new 'friend' to appear.

Joel and Kevin were talking quietly, with Levi on Joel's lap. Kevin said, "I'll explain everything as I see it for you."

"I wish I could still see," Joel whispered sadly, and Levi swiveled to hug him tightly.

Kevin thought for a moment, then asked, "Would you be able to use the bond-link and see with my eyes?"

Joel hesitated for a second. "Yes, but I do not know how. We are meant to discover that type of use on our own... I don't think Fa'sami would help us with that."

"Didn't you learn it in the meld with your Dad?" Kevin asked.

Joel shook his head, "No. He told me Thursday afternoon that there were some things I'd discover with the bond-link, but that I didn't know about them all. I asked why I'd not seen it in his mind, and he told me that he locked some stuff away from me just as we started our first meld. This was one of them. Which is why Granpa won't tell either. Right, Granpa?" Joel asked as he felt Sarek draw closer.

"Correct, Sa'ren," was the elder Vulcan's quiet responce.

Kevin looked thoughtful. "Mmm..." he murmured before saying, "I'm going to try something."

"Okay," trembled Joel.

Kevin moved until he was hugging Joel from behind and laid his chin on Joel's shoulder. He closed his eyes and opened his link, pushing at it with all his ability to go deeper into Joel's being that he had ever attempted before. With a gasp, both boys jumped.

"I feel you," Joel whispered as Kevin opened his eyes. "I can see! Kev! I can see!"

"I can as well, but I also see nothing. It's like we're both blind and we're both not at the same time!" Kevin whispered sadly. He turned his head to look up at Sarek at their side, and the older Vulcan had a tear running from his eye.

Joel shuddered. "That's weird. It feels like I'm turning my head and seeing Granpa, but I know I'm not."

Kevin giggled as he faced back to the shower room doorway, "Wait til I look AT you... you'll be seeing yourself!"

Joel trembled, "I look ugly now."

"No you don't," Kevin stated firmly as he kissed the side of Joel's hood covered head. "You'll always be beautiful."

Just then, Austin came through the bathroom door, and Justy wolf-whistled; along with Nathan, who also eyed up the android teen.

"Give it a rest, guys," Austin said as he ran over and jumped at Justy for a hug, "I've missed you ALL so much..." he sobbed.

After a round of hugs, the boys started looking back at the doorway. "Where's your friend?" Kevin asked as Austin let go of Joel.

"I have to warn you," Austin said seriously, "that Nine is a little different." He turned to look at Doctor McCoy and Trip, "Very different, Uncle Len. He's going to need your help."

Bones nodded. "Okay. Enough drama. Let's see."

Austin walked slowly back to the door while Joel watched through Kevin's eyes like a hawk.

"This is my boyfriend," Austin said simply as the Borg teen walked out to stand next to him, also as naked as the day he was born... yet very different. "This is Nine of Twelve, Subset fifteen of Unimatrix 935, Cube 56233... but you can call him Nine."

There was a stunned, deep silence from all the gathered kids and adults; broken very quickly by Bones:

"Holy fuck! Who in God's name did this to this poor boy?! I'm going to..."

(Due to the minors, young adults, older adults... in short, anyone... reading this story, the rest of what McCoy said has been blanked out of CSU Record by the Mikyvis and Q Profanity Filters)

"Uncle Bones!" Kevin giggled as he turned his face towards McCoy, "I'm impressed!"

"I'm not," McCoy glowered as his eyes remained fixed upon Nine. "That is horrific... why would anyone do that?"

Nine shifted his stance slightly and faced the Starfleet Doctor. "We are the Borg. We achieve perfection by uniting the organic and the synthetic."

"And I think he's just right," Austin murmured. "Though he does have some redundant systems that could be removed, now."

"Correct, we have no Borg cube to link to, so some of what is on and in us can be surgically removed," Nine stated. It was obvious to Austin that his boyfriend was nervous, although the only sign of that to the rest of the room was the fact that Nine reached out quickly to take Austin's hand.

Most of the older Clan members were looking at the new arrival sadly, but the Tribe and Rugrats, gathered there, were looking a little freaked out. Except Timmy and Ricky, who moved over slowly towards the naked cyborg and started to run their hands over him, touching the tubes and small metal fixtures that wove around his torso and limbs. "We like you," Timmy decided, once Nine had knelt down to be explored easier. Timmy then looked up at Austin, "You showered without us, Austie!"

"Yes," Austin nodded, "my bad. But Nine wanted to have his first shower just with me."

"It was... an experience," Nine stated blandly. He traced the fingers of his right hand over Timmy's bright red hair. "Impressive colour," he said. Then, a small device started whirring and beeping at him from his toolarm. He raised the heavy looking device up and ran it over both small boys' left arms. Nine stated, "New species identified. Species designation, 10259: Bio-neural Implanted Weapon. New alloy detected: designate number 65734 – living metal. Processing... processing... adaptation to defence shield made. Danger level zero."

Timmy giggled, "They's no danger, you're family, silly!! That's kewl! Whaddazit do wit' my cousin Dilly?"

Nine patted Timmy on the head before looking more closely at Dylan, Bryce and Peter. With his enhanced ocular device in place he could see more than when he had his normal eye attachment in. "May I?" he asked them as he raised his left arm and a few of the devices moved. The three Mikyvis nodded with foolish, silly grins. Nine got to his feet and walked up to them and started scanning. "New species – identification in process... Anti-energy based advanced beings, humanoid appearance. Species designation, 10260: Higher Race Being. No adaptation possible, danger level extreme. Only known recourse," he finished with a smile then added in a puppy-dog tone that he'd learnt from Austin, "Will you be my friends?"

"We can be bribed with cookies!" Dylan giggled.

Nine looked at Austin quizzically, "Cookies?"

Austin giggled, "I'll get you one later!"

Levi giggled, "Forgive my little brothers... they're kinda weird! Of course we'll be friends, you're our Uncle now!!"

Nine smiled at him and nodded.

"Me next!" yelled Quint with a grin.

Nine nodded and moved over to the bouncing boy and started scanning. "Species 3 – Q. Energy based higher race being. No adaptation possible, danger level... O.M.F.G. RUN FOR THE HILLS. Recourse – kiss ass goodbye," Nine giggled.

"You're pretty smart – especially for a Borg!" Quint laughed. "And it's good to know I'm recognised," Quint added with a grin as he hugged the laughing Nine.

Dean was the next, for the little kids were still a bit leery due to the devices moving on Nine's left arm attachment. "New species – identify: human genetic modification. Alloy 65734 throughout cellular structure. Designation: 10261 – Long-lived homo sapiens. No threat level detected."

"Don't forget Allie!" Dean laughed as he pointed at the alligator at Joel's feet.

Nine looked down at the smiling 'gator and started to scan. "Lower Species identification A-934:228J, reptilian quadruped from planet Earth. Hyperactive neuro-cortex. Advancement possible. Threat level, negligible. Cute critter," he added as he bent down and patted Allie's snout with his right hand.

Allie took exception to the term 'lower species', however, and bit Nine's hand.

Nine did not flinch. Extending his fingers, Allie's jaw began to pry itself open. "Borg enhancements make me far stronger than the pressure and force such a creature can exert. Creature is dangerous, however, and should be terminated," he said as his eye contracted to a slit. Freeing his right hand, Nine stood up fully and levelled his left arm at Allie.

Austin yelled, "Stop, Nine!" as he rushed forward to stand between his boyfriend and Allie.

"DON'T YOU HURT ALLIE!" Timmy yelled as he ran and threw himself over his 'gator friend. Surprisingly, Justy thought, he did not fire on Nine. He must really like the new boy.

The other kids in the room backed away slightly, however, leaving plenty of room for Nine, Austin, Timmy and Allie.

"Austin. The reptile is dangerous. Had I been a child of Timmy's age, that bite would have broken my arm," Nine said reasonably.

"What would it have done to me?" Austin asked slowly.

"Bruised you," Nine said slowly.

Austin smiled, "What could she do to me if she wanted?"

"Kill you."

"But she did not try killing force with you?"

"No."

Austin smiled more, "Then she was just showing her discontent. You insulted her by calling her a lower species."

"Oh," Nine said. "Just as when you told me to bite your ass, and I did and you slapped me thirty seven times and called me names and told me I could not make love to you for another week?"

"You blush more redder than Daddy does, Austie!" Timmy exclaimed to the speechless android as he realized Allie was no longer in danger.

"Mmm..." Austin mumbled as he looked deep into Nine's eye. He whispered, "You need to say sorry to Allie, then you can be friends with her... and Timmy."

Nine looked quizzically at Austin for a moment before leaning in to kiss him briefly. He then moved around him to stand over Allie, who had Timmy sitting on her back. The boy was glaring at Nine hard. "Will you hurt my friend?" he asked belligerently.

Nine shook his head. "I thought she was attacking me. I did not know she could understand what I was saying, nor that my words were taken as an insult. And so," he looked down into Allie's eyes, "I apologise. I am sorry, Allie."

Allie growled at him for a second or so.

"She says she's sorry too," Timmy translated as he patted Allie's snout. "She said you can pet her if you want."

Nine knelt down and did so, and Allie lazily closed her eyes.

"Did you really open her mouth with your hand?" Timmy asked curiously.

Nine nodded.

"Wow, you're strong!" Timmy grinned.

"I know," Nine whispered. He stood back up and looked around the room.

Pauly and a few of the little kids came up and smiled, "Us next?"

Nine did so, announcing that they were either 'Species 5618 – Human' or 'Species 3259 – Vulcan' in Pauly's case. "I have never heard of a blond Vulcan before," he smiled at the grinning Pauly.

Justy was pushed forward by his son, Liam, who giggled, "My daddy's an angel! Prove it!"

Justy groaned theatrically, but did smile at Nine. "Go on, but no kill attempts," he giggled. "I might be an angel in waiting, but I would like to wait a little longer!"

Nine giggled and scanned the boy, "Species 5618-A... advanced hyperactive neuro-cortex. You are Gifted, Justy. You would be ideal for the Collective if I were to assimilate you."

"Assi-what?" Justy blurted.

"Hey!" Dean giggled, "His ass is all mine, you thieving Borg!"

Nine blinked, then giggled. "Assimilate: To convert you into a Borg."

"Why is Justy perfect?" Jason asked curiously.

Nine looked over at him and explained, "In all worlds, there are a select few who are Gifted – more so than normal. We would normally assimilate about 20% of a population, sometimes more. The rest are terminated. Justy would be high in that 20%."

Timmy giggled, "What about the rest of us?"

"Yeah," Nathan smiled, "I'd kinda like to know if we'd live or die!" he added poking his tongue out at Nine.

And so Nine went around the entire room, scanning. He designated Jason, Nathan and Viccy as 'Species 10262'. "You were human, or at least came from them. You have more protein strands in your DNA. You are an evolutionary next step," he said slowly.

"We, Sammy and me, came up with the name 'N-Gen'," Jason murmured. "It kinda fits."

"No. Next generation is what Justy and the six other I pointed out are. You are Evolutionary, not Generational. Difference in Kind, not Degree," Nine explained. "However, N-Gen is your name, so N-Gen you are."

"Actually," Nathan offered, "Levi's friend gave us another name."

"What was that?" Nine asked.

"Ka'Inri. Mind-Walkers," Viccy smiled.

"That fits," Nine grinned. Then he moved on and pronounced Xandor as 'Species 10263', but stopped with Riti. "You are not the same as the other. You are advanced. Species 10263-A," Nine murmured.

"I'm special," Riti giggled as Xandor swatted his bare butt. "Hey! He said I was! So nerrr!"

Nine still studied him, "No. Not a generational change. You are linked with Species 10262 – Ka'Inri. Cross Species link. Rare."

"I'm even more specialer!" Riti exclaimed loudly.

"Species 10262-CSC-10263. Interesting," Nine murmured as he moved over to Hermes, Mercury, Artemus and Aphrodite. "Cross species/lower species. Genetic splicing. Primitive yet effective technological breakthrough. Just as the Vifer, Species 10261, was a primitive breakthrough. You are human yet not. How many forms of this genetic splicing are there?"

Hermes giggled and listed, "Various large cats, gorillas, chimps, ferrets, badgers, wolverines, raccoons and wolves. We're legion!"

"Then I shall designate you all under 10264, and compile a full list later," Nine smiled.

As Nine approached the group of adults, he stopped and stared at Trip Tucker and Dr McCoy. "This is not right," he turned back to Austin. "Is this Universe very different from mine?"

Austin nodded, "From what you told me, yeah."

Nine looked back at the two men, "You are from two different time frames in my Universe."

"We know," Trip smiled. "My grandson told us."

Nine turned to the kid that Trip was pointing out. "That is Sa'ren Joel Short. I remember him from Austin's memories."

Joel turned his head slightly as if to face the Borg, while looking through Kevin's eyes. "Hi," he whispered uncertainly.

"I will talk to you later, Sa'ren of Vulcan. We have much to discuss."

Joel nodded timidly.

Nine went on scanning and stopped with Dan, "Species 5618-A, Generational." Then he scanned John, "Species 5618."

Jamie, Jacob and Beau were near the end of the list of kids that Nine scanned, and they caused the most hilarity. Nine scanned them, and declared them the same as Jason and the other 'Ka'Inri', but then he scanned them again... and again... and again...

"You..." Nine started as he began to shake. He pulled himself together and managed to say steadily, "You are a Collective."

Jamie looked at Jacob, who looked at Beau, who looked back at Jamie. They turned and faced him and said together, "Yes. We are!"

Nine blinked as his smile reached from ear to ear. "Borg! I have found BORG!" he exclaimed as he reached and grabbed Beau, and – using just his one available hand – stripped him and started examining him. "Where are they? No connections, no synthetics! How can you be Borg yet not Borg?"

Jamie and Jacob did not answer, for they were too preoccupied with watching their boyfriend's tushy be lifted about and moved around as Nine kept examining the boy.

Everyone else was laughing, including Beau – who found it hysterical.

"No tubes... apart from the obvious one..."

"That is..."

"... ours! You have..."

"... your own!" Jamie and Jacob giggled as Beau 'shyly' covered the 'tube' in question.

"Are there more in your unique Collective?" Nine asked excitedly. "And can I join? Me and Austin? I miss the voices. I miss the Great Song... please?"

Beau placed his hands on Nine's face and stopped the examination. "We will need to talk to Kyle about it. There may be something we can do to help you, Nine."

Nine beamed at him before handing his clothes back to the nude ten year old. Beau giggled, "We're also..."

"... linked to Justy..."

"... as well." Jamie and Jacob completed.

Justy had all of two seconds to prepare himself, but it wasn't enough to stop his shirt being yanked up over his head – pinning his hands together and so incapable of stopping what was happening – and the rest of his clothes around his ankles. "Mind not fully linked, yet Borg, but not Borg... same 'tube'... but bigger. Impressive too... cute..."

Austin burst out laughing, "You did that just to see his dick, didn't you?"

"Yes," Nine said with blaséness, "but I think yours is cutest."

Austin decided to study the wall for a while as his face flushed yet again.

Eventually, Nine reached Timmy and Ricky again, and quickly scanned them both. "Generational," he announced over both of them. He looked up and shared a long stare with Austin. "Over fifty percent of the human children and teenagers in this room are generational. Twenty percent of the adults are. This is the Forge Point for this planet in this timeline – earlier than in the Universe I came from."

"The what point?" Justy asked.

"In my Universe, humanity started to grow and mature between the 21st and 22nd centuries. All through history on any world, Gifted people are born, but only a few to a generation. When a Forge Point happens, almost half the world can be Gifted. It is when the species either grows or dies. This is your Forge Point," Nine stated. "People born who are great artists, engineers, designers, thinkers. Not that they have advanced abilities like psionics, but exceptional for their own race. Those of you with the designation 5618-A are still homo sapiens, but you are a Generational next step. You have potential more than your peers. What will happen is that either the world will follow you and grow, or fight you and all will die. The Borg have seen this happen many times in many places."

"But we, Jace, me and Vic, are not human any more?" Nathan asked curiously.

"You are and you are not. You are a new type of humanity. Yet humanity's growth is not dependent on those who have changed from the Norm, but ON the Norm. Humanity can only grow if Humanity wishes to. This is your hour, so do not waste it," Nine finished solemnly.

"You got all that from this one room?" Trip asked in surprise.

"Yes. The percentage is extreme for such a gathering. It is indicative of the rest of your world. This is the hour. Take it, or die. I shall help as I may," Nine said with a smile before going over and hugging his equally naked boyfriend. "Now I wish to nibble on my boyfriend's ears for a while. Is there a place we can go to to copulate?" he asked bluntly.

"Meep!" Austin squeaked.

"You are cute when you squeak," Nine smiled as he kissed Austin's neck.

"Can this wait until after we have had a look at you, Nine?" McCoy asked with concern. "If we can help you, the sooner we start, the better."

Nine nodded while Austin continued to blush five shades of red.

"They're worse than Grandpa Cory and Grandpa Sean!" Leo exclaimed with a giggle to Conner.

Nine looked over, "You are Austin's children, correct?"

"Yeah, Pops!" Leo giggled.

Nine blinked and smiled. "Pops. I think I will like that."

Austin gestured for the two boys to come closer and then he hugged them before handing them over to Nine for a hug. "We'll all come with you to the infirmary," Austin whispered. "Then after, we can find that room."

"See?" Leo giggled again, nudging Conner. "Much worse than Grandpa Cory and Grandpa Sean!"

Sarek turned and touched Joel's shoulder and said, "Your father would also like it if you went to the infirmary as well, Sa'ren. There are more tests that he and T'Pol wish to perform, and there you and Nine can talk as well."

"Okay, Fa'sami," Joel whispered.

"We'll come with you," Kevin said as Levi nodded firmly.

*Growl*

"Allie too," Joel smiled as he reached and patted her back.

Kevin giggled, "Of course! She's your ride!"

*Growl*

"Sorry – OUR ride!"

*Growl!*

---

After dressing and walking over the road to Camp Little Eagle in the late autumn air, Nine, Austin, Joel and the rest entered the infirmary and stopped, waiting to be told where to go. McCoy arrived a few minutes later with Spock and said, "Follow us."

The four G-Cats who made up Joel and Kevin's guard took up station by the main doors, trusting Spock to look after their charges.

Nine and Austin walked behind Joel as the Vulcan, his husband and Levi were being carried on Allie's back. Leo and Conner were having back rides by their dads; Leo on Austin's back with the older Conner on Nine's. They stopped at the door that Bones had entered. "Are we all goin' in together?" Levi asked as he looked around Joel's body and through the door.

"Yes," Spock's voice answered. "Both my son and the new child are in need of extensive help, and between myself, Dr McCoy and my mother, we are the best to do so. Enter, please."

Allie plodded in and stopped to allow her three boy-burden to get off her back. Then she plodded out again, growling about getting something – someone? – to eat.

Levi helped Joel up onto the first biobed before sitting down on Kevin's lap as close as they could. Nine watched impassively as both T'Pol – obviously Spock's mother by marriage, going on Vulcan cultural structure that he knew – and Spock started to work on the younger boy. He felt a hand take his right arm, and so turned to see McCoy. He followed him over to the other biobed and got on and lay down. Austin, Leo and Conner sat nearby and watched closely

"You will need to tell me what does what, what you want to keep and what we can safely remove," Bones said simply. "I will then see if removal of any of it is possible."

Nine quickly removed his toolarm and laid it down at the bedside cabinet, causing Conner to gasp and Leo to mutter "Kewl!".

"I do not wish to lose anything that enables me to use my hand and modular attachments, nor do I wish to lose the eye connections for my regular eye or optic systems," Nine said as he removed his ocular piece with the laser and holographic section away from his face and placing it down on the same cabinet. "All the internal systems I will explain as you bring them up on the monitor. There are three that you can remove that are now redundant. There are two others that are technically useless as well, but cannot be removed without my death. The tubes you see on my body are all a part of the first three systems. Everything else has a use, including security and defence. I do not wish to lose them."

Bones nodded as he gently checked the stub of Nine's left arm where it ended just below the elbow. "What of your skin-tone and eye color?" he asked.

"The nanoprobes I have within me alter me thus, but I have learnt to rewrite their programming. Hence, I can choose to inject them as I would in an assimilation, but they would do as I command rather than the original and now removed programming. I can still assimilate if I chose, but this also means that I can have them change my colouration to a more human norm."

"And your hair?"

"Once the three systems that can be removed have been, I will start to grow body-hair again. They inhibit growth right now."

Joel sat up on his bed and called over, "So... you can control nanoprobes?"

"Completely, Sa'ren of Vulcan."

"Joel."

"Sorry?"

"Call me Joel, please," Joel asked softly as Spock helped him out of his Burial Robes.

Nine noticed he was naked beneath, and also noticed the pale reminders of his scars all over his body. "Austin told me, but... you went through a lot, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Joel whispered as he looked around blindly. He reached out to where he knew Kevin would be and interlaced his fingers with his husband's. "More today as well."

"After, if you wish, I can try and see if my nanoprobes can repair your sight..."

"You'd have to 'assimilate' me to do so?" Joel asked cautiously.

Nine shook his head, but then remembered Joel was blind. "No. Normally, yes, but like I informed the doctor, I have suspended and deleted that procedure unless I wish them to. They will enter you and go to your brain, where they will check the visual cortex centres and then the optic nerves and finally your eye. If your brain can be repaired, they will do so. If not, they will leave the way they went in – through the tubes I will have to put in your neck."

Joel hummed to himself, and squeezed Kevin's hand. After a moment, he nodded. "Okay, we can try."

Nine smiled again before lying back down comfortably. He turned back to Bones and said, "Internal tubing and other systems will need to remain as they are. I am no standard Borg drone. I, and the other eleven of my subnet, are prototypes. We have many upgrades not normally found in a Borg."

"Since I have never met the Borg, I will rely on what you say," McCoy smiled at him before bringing up the screen to see what was going on inside Nine.

Austin moved to look and take Nine's hand as well.

Over with Joel, Spock was holding his son's robe in his hands and a tear came to his eye. "You feel dead inside, do you not, my son?"

Joel nodded sorrowfully.

"I am here for you, Sa'ren. I will find a way to make you feel alive again," Spock whispered.

Joel nodded before turning his ruined face from his father's gaze.

Spock placed his hand on his son's shoulder and squeezed gently before turning to look at the screen that T'Pol was standing by.

"The virus is no longer in his liver, and there are anti-virons throughout his system. Yet the virus remains there as well? This is unusual, Spock," T'Pol said.

"I am taking some of the virus samples and applying it to type A human blood. I wish to see if the virus can still affect humans in this state," Spock said briefly before heading off to the far end of the room.

Joel sighed. "Why me?" he asked no one in particular. "What did I do to deserve this, Kev? What did you do to have me tell you I don't love you... I do, I think... yes... I still love you, but I don't feel it any more... why me?"

"I don't know," Kevin whispered as he pressed a kiss to the back of Joel's hand. Joel shuddered slightly, but gripped Kevin's hand far more tightly rather than pull away. "Bad things happen so good things can," Kevin said, although there was no belief in that statement in his voice.

Levi reached and laid his hand over the linked hands of the two hurting boys and sent all the love he could into both of them. "We're here for you, Joel," he whispered. "I love you. So very much. You too, Uncle Kev."

They heard Austin ask, "Will you operate in here, Uncle Len?"

"I could. With his immune system, there is no reason why not – other than the sight of this to you and the others," Bones answered. "It is up to you, Nine."

"Since I can turn off my pain receptors, I do not mind whichever you choose. I do not wish to upset the others, however."

"We're okay," Kevin said. "I saw worse this morning," he added sadly, tightening his grip on Joel's hand.

"Will you let me watch through your eyes, Kev?" Joel whimpered. "I think I like Nine, and I want to see him become more human."

Kevin answered by allowing the bond-link to flare up and then he turned his eyes on the bed where Austin and Nine were. Joel waved back as Nine smiled and waved at him, then they heard Nine say, "The three systems you will remove are just under the skin in my abdomen. The messiest will be the tubes. They lead from my power centre to my brain-stem and to those three devices. The external tubes on my arms and legs are power backups for those three systems when sending information to a Borg Cube through the receptors in my hand and feet."

Joel piped up, "What are you going to do about recharging, Nine?"

Nine looked up in shock. "I had not thought about that. That could be a problem."

Bones looked at him closely. "Does your stomach and intestines not work? The rest of your organs?"

"Yes, but I am unaware if normal food and drink can give the needed energy to my synthetic parts. Nor do I know if just 'sleep' will aid in the recharging. We can test it, after the operation," Nine explained as he laid back down.

"I could design an alcove for you," Joel whispered. "With Kev's help and his eyes, I can see enough to do so. And Ark can help build it."

"Even the power supply?"

"Yes. I know how to create and build almost anything from the 'Star Trek' Universe – your one. Should be easy, if you really need it."

"Thank you, Joel," Nine smiled happily, looking a lot more relieved.

Just then, Spock came back over to T'Pol and said, "It turned back into alpha strain HIV upon contact with human blood. It is fascinating, and highly unexpected. There is something unique with Sa'ren's blood. I added some of the normal virus and some of the harvested virus to a sample of my own blood, and the normal alpha strain remained the same and the adapted strain from Sa'ren changed back."

T'Pol raised her eyebrow, "Intriguing. I am checking the anti-virons from Sa'ren's blood and they seem to have tags to HIV's base coding. It is something I believe you and my daughter's Katra should study."

Joel reached in their general direction and snagged his father's jacket back and tugged slightly. "Daddy? What's happening?"

Spock swiveled and pulled his son up and into his arms, "First, your body does not seem to be degrading. That is the first piece of good news. Second, when the virus in you enters a human blood stream again, it reverts to standard alpha strain HIV. We are still running more tests to be sure, but that..."

"How is that good news?" Kevin asked hesitantly. Spock looked over and saw Kevin's eyes looking wild. "Cause, ummm... like Pon Farr is a day or so away and Sa'r's gonna be all over my... me. How is this good news?"

T'Pol answered that one. "It is good because alpha and beta strains are completely curable – and preventable – with HRIT. All we need do is dose you once a week and you and my grandson can live a normal, married life."

"Never having sex again," Joel trembled fearfully, "No wa..."

"Sa'ren," Spock whispered as he nuzzled his face against his son's. "Stop thinking on that right now. That is an order."

"Okay," Joel whispered as he seemed to melt into his dad's arms.

Spock cursed himself in the halls of his mind from having to order his son to do anything, but the more logical part of his psyche knew that it was the right thing to do. "Now go and sit with your new friend..."

"Nine," Joel supplied.

"... Nine, and we'll call you back when we need more tests with you."

Joel was placed back on his feet, and Kevin was right there with his robe. After helping his husband into it, Kevin and Levi walked the unsteady boy over to sit with Austin and his sons.

Bones was, by this point, satisfied that he could bring Nine back to look much as he should have done had he never been a Borg – with the obvious exceptions Nine had explained to him. "This looks painful, Nine. Are you sure we can't help with it?" he asked as he scanned the synthetic joining point just below Nine's left elbow.

"It is not, however, since further adaptations will not now be happening by the Others, I can order the nanoprobes to heal the scaring properly. That will take about two hours, which should be the same amount of time for you to complete your operations," Nine answered.

The doctor nodded before reaching for a hypospray. Nine asked, "What are you doing?"

"While you said you can suppress pain, I do not feel comfortable with you being awake, and so..."

"You will not be able to force me into unconsciousness," Nine said slowly. "Whether it makes you comfortable or not, I will be awake for this. It is a part of my nature as a prototype."

Bones sighed. "Okay. If you need pain suppressors, however, tell me," he said unhappily.

Nine nodded.

Bones tapped the comm, and called for Doctor Chapel and Antonio to join him. In the mean while, Austin had reached up and tenderly held onto Nine's upper arm, "I'm here."

"I know."

"As are we," Joel murmured.

About five minutes later, Dr Chapel and Antonio entered and went immediately over to where Nine was lying.

Nine asked, "Why did you call a child to help you, Dr McCoy?"

Bones grinned, "He's a fully qualified doctor, Nine."

"And I'm older than I look," Antonio smiled as he pulled a small footstool over so he could reach the Borg lying on the bed easier.

"If that is the case, then I am satisfied," Nine responded. "Have you much experience with surgery?"

"Some," Antonio answered, his face becoming serious. "This morning included. I had to keep Joel's heart pumping while Uncle Len worked on him."

"Really?" came a small voice from behind the tiny doctor.

Antonio turned and jumped off the stool to cuddle Joel, "Yes. Really. You're my brother and I wasn't going to let you go. No way!"

"Th...thanks," Joel sniffed from inside his hooded robe.

"You're welcome," 'Tonio giggled as he kissed Joel's covered head before jumping back up to help with Nine. He looked at Bones and asked, "What are we doing?"

"Well..." the good doctor started to explain.

After taking a good look at the screen and listening to what Bones was explaining, 'Tonio offered, "We should call Janet from Utah."

"What is her speciality?" Nine asked.

"Genetics," Antonio smiled. "She'd love to take a look at what's going on with you. If you don't mind, that is?"

Nine shrugged. "I am okay with her examining me."

"The more hands, the better," Bones said as he tapped the comm-badge he had been given by Justy just after dinner when he'd arrived back in Orlando. "Doctor McCoy to Doctor Hayes."

"Janet Hayes. What can I help you with, Leonard?"

Bones smiled, "Hopefully, quite a lot. We have had a rescue, of sorts. The rescuee is a boy, about twelve or thirteen Earth years old... and he has undergone large synthetic operations that have combined to form a unique type of cybernetic organism. Antonio believes that you would a) be interested and b) be able to help us in bringing this boy back to a more normal looking appearance."

They heard a quick intake of breath. "Synthetic operations? I am coming right away."

"Thank you," McCoy stated as he tapped his badge again. He looked down at Nine and smiled, receiving a large toothy grin back.

Seconds later, Janet popped in after being teleported by Daileass. She took one look at the naked form on the table, took in the amputated left lower arm, removed eye, and various tubes running around and through the child, and started swearing. "Damn that man. DAMN him! I only WISH Mike had left some for me."

"Who?" Bones asked.

"General Adams... this is his work, correct?" she said, as she walked to Nine's right and took the boy's hand gently. "We'll do everything we can, son," she murmured.

Blinking at her, Nine smiled. "I do not know this General Adams you speak of, doctor. I am Nine of Twelve. I am Borg. It was they that made me thus, not a human. Your technology is too primitive to achieve this."

Janet's eyes went wide. "Borg? I have never heard of them. What are they? A race or..."

"We are the Borg. We are all races. We are the Collective. We are One. The biological and the synthetic combined into perfection. We are the Borg," Nine stated, his voice becoming choral as he said it.

Joel turned slightly towards the direction Janet's voice had come from and said, "Think of your worst nightmare, then cross it with the worst horror film, and throw in a few sadists, and you might get the idea."

Janet looked up at the robed Vulcan and realised that it was Joel beneath the hood. She ran around the bed and took him into her arms, "Oh, sweety. Are you okay? You scared us when you just vanished."

"I am not okay, but I am all right for the moment," he murmured. "How is Juan? Kevin said that he freaked out because of something I did, but I do not remember doing anything."

Janet's face changed slightly, but her voice remained neutral. "He will be okay, Joel. Don't worry about Juan right now, just get yourself better," she said.

"He is not okay. I can feel it in you. I hurt him, didn't I?" Joel said as he began to cry. "That's all I've done today is hurt people..."

Janet shook her head, making sure that she had Joel pressed close enough to feel her doing so. "No, Joel. You are special and loved. You do a lot to us all the time, but hurting us isn't it. Yes, Juan got hurt, but no, we don't blame you. You were frightened and you put your fear into him. If he had been trained correctly, you wouldn't have hurt him. But Commander Xolan, Jace, Viccy and Sammy were there and they helped him. He'll be okay soon," she soothed. Then she looked back up at Bones and Nine, "These Borg – do they live close to the Federation or...?"

"I am not from this place," Nine whispered. "This universe is not where I am from."

Levi added, "Bry and Dill-Dill went to check. We don't have Borg in this Universe. Except for Nine."

"Thank goodness," Janet and Joel said together, then Joel giggled slightly. Janet hugged him hard before placing him back down next to Levi and Kevin. She moved back over to Bones and asked, "What do you want me to do?"

For the next two hours and fourteen minutes, McCoy and the other three doctors worked ceaselessly on Nine's body; removing the three redundant systems and the tubing running across his torso, arms and legs. By the time they had finished, the only one tube remained, starting just at his left elbow and running up flush against his arm to disappear into his shoulder blade. Due to its size and the way it seemed to be against his arm, clothing would not be a problem to wear.

The reason for it remaining was because Nine had told them, "It supplies the power for my synthetic hand and toolarm."

"That's a lot of power," Janet murmured as she scanned the readings.

"Yes. The toolarm has a weapon inbuilt – a prototype anti-proton launcher. It makes a satisfying boom."

"Juan will love you, Nine," Janet chuckled as she continued to scan the boy. "Your skin coloration has returned to normal. Your hair is growing at a phenomenal rate, however."

"Yes," Nine smiled. "I asked the nanoprobes to assist in hair growth. What colour is it?"

"You're going to get teased," Kevin giggled.

"Why?"

"Because you're blond!" Joel laughed as he watched through Kevin's eyes.

Levi was sniggering, as were Leo and Conner. Austin, however, was smiling and his eyes were roaming all over his boyfriend's body. "Now that ain't fair," he grouched playfully.

"What is not fair?" Nine asked curiously.

"You have pubes. Damnit," Austin giggled.

Nine looked down at himself and the admittedly few hairs around the base of his dick, and then back at Austin. "Sorry," he said simply.

"Don't be sorry," his boyfriend answered. "They look good on you."

"Trust you to think of that, dad," Conner sniggered.

Austin tickled his cheeky son for a few minutes as punishment.

Joel sighed then.

"What is the matter?" Nine asked him.

"You and Austie. You're gonna grow up. Austie isn't."

Nine's forehead creased, and he looked at Austin who nodded. "I'm an android. We don't grow."

"You are a cyborg, like myself," Nine responded. "Your body is biological. How is this possible that you do not grow?"

"Because my skeleton is synthetic and I was designed to remain the age I am."

"I see," Nine answered, his voice seeming deep in thought.

Janet was only half paying attention to all the chatter. Instead, she was studying the Borg's DNA and the interaction with the nanites, or nanoprobes as Nine called them. "Mmm, Leonard. What do you make of these readings?" she asked as she passed her tricorder over to the Starfleet Commodore.

McCoy glanced at the screen, then did a double take and looked more closely. "Interesting. That is an interesting form of radiation they are putting out."

Joel got up carefully and walked over holding hands with Kevin so that, by reason of their bond, he could see where to go. "What radiation?" he asked as the two boys drew next to McCoy.

"I don't know," McCoy said. "I've never seen it before." He handed to tricorder to Chapel, but she too shook her head. McCoy called, "Spock, T'Pol. Could you come here, please?"

The two Vulcan's walked over. "How may we assist you, Leonard?" T'Pol asked politely.

Bones handed her the tricorder. "Do you recognise this radiation?"

She looked at the screen and narrowed her eyes. "It is... not possible. It is only a theory, and a very loose theory at that."

Spock was also looking at the screen over T'Pol's shoulder. "I know that pattern," he said quietly. He then took the tricorder and handed it to Kevin. "Please, my son. Look at the screen so that Sa'ren may see it."

Kevin nodded curiously and did so, and then Joel gasped. "Metaphasic radiation!" he exclaimed.

"Interesting," Nine responded. "My nanoprobes are releasing what was termed in human legend as 'the waters of life'."

"What does it do?" Janet asked.

"Welllll," Joel started, "in these small amounts, nothing to the rest of us. But this radiation should keep Austie's boyfriend alive... forever. It regenerates organics. This radiation signal, however, is slightly different from that of the Ba'ku's homeworld... Nine, what do you make of it?" he asked as Kevin handed the tricorder to the Borg.

Nine looked carefully at the readout before responding slowly. "I will not age at all. This form of metaphasic radiation will not allow me to age nor die nor degrade. This is... good news."

"Very," Austin smiled as he got up and deposited Leo on his older brother's lap before landing a lip lock on Nine.

"Here we go already," Conner sing-songed.

"That is all we can do, I believe," Chapel said with a smile. "You are looking a lot more human now, Nine."

"Mmmanmmm-mmmouuu," he answered through the lip lock that Austin was refusing to stop.

"He says 'Thank you'... I think," Kevin giggled.

"I got the message," Chapel smiled as she ruffled his brown, Vulcan styled yet spikey hair.

"Oh, maaaan!" Kevin groused.

Joel completed, "You've messed up his cute spikes!"

"I know. I'm evil. Sue me," Chapel laughed as she turned to leave the room. "You take care, Nine. We'll see you later. I believe I will sample some of this coffee that Leonard is always going on about."

"You drink it all, and I'm bustin' you down to 'nurse', doctor!" Bones called out after her, a smile on his face.

"Riiiight," came the reply as the door closed behind the the grinning doctor.

At that moment, Janet's communicator beeped. She pulled it out and opened it up, "This is Doctor Hayes."

"Mamma?" Juan's hesitant voice could be heard coming over her device.

"Yes Juan..." She said, also sounding a bit hesitant as she darted her eyes at Joel. "What do you need?"

"Well... I was wondering if... if Joel was there with you."

She glanced over to Joel. Kevin was watching her like a hawk, and she saw the Vulcan boy nod very slightly. "Yes honey, he's here."

"I... I was wondering something," he said almost fearfully, then spoke in a rush, "I was wondering if... well if perhaps, if you used our blood... well if you used our healing abilities to help Joel. I mean it helped me re-grow my... well you know. But I was wondering if it might help Joel."

Joel raised his head slightly and then tugged on his father's hand. He asked in a whisper, "Would that work? For my eyes and mind?"

Spock shook his head slowly as he whispered back, "Human blood would kill you if donated to you."

"Oh," Joel murmured. He then reached out towards Janet, and she placed her communicator in it. "Juan?" he asked with a tremble.

"I'm here, Joel," came Juan's still hesitant voice.

"I just... I..." Joel started, meaning to explain to his friend what his dad had said, but then he broke down in tears. "I'm sorry!" he wailed piteously as huge sobs racked his frail frame. "I'm so, so sorry... I would never hurt you... ever... but I have... I've hurt everyone today, even Kevvy... I'm s...s...sorry..." he cried as he shook so hard the communicator fell from his hands. Blindly, he ran for the door, his eidetic memory serving him well as a reference.

It did not, however, take into account the 'powers of the almighty Daileass' and his teleporters. Juan was suddenly by the door and caught him in his arms.

"NO, GOD DAMNIT!" Juan said as he easily held the struggling boy. "I will not let you run away from this. You taught me to always face my fears, and this time, I will make you face them. Just like you were there with me for mine, I'll be there for yours. Yes you hurt me, but... oh, fuck this," Juan grabbed Joel's hand and pressed it to his face, forcing Joel's fingers to the proper position. "Meld with me," Juan said forcefully, yet at the same time with so much love in his voice that no one could miss it.

Joel sniffed for a few seconds before initiating the meld, and both boys felt themselves flowing into each other's minds and thoughts...

---

Joel opened his eyes and saw that he was in a large weapon's locker – obviously a place that Juan would feel the most at peace and comfortable. In front of him, less than a foot away, was Juan. Yet Joel knew something was not quite right. "You're Juan, but not, at the same time," he whispered.

Juan nodded and sighed. "Your right.. I am and I am not. I'm not really sure how to explain it other than a Vulcan did some mind healing on me, then said I needed to sleep for a while. I refused to do that though, so Jason had me make a room and put myself from earlier in there to control things while the rest of me sleeps. I hope that made more sense to you than it did to me, though," Juan said with a grin.

"Will the real you remember this happening?" Joel asked fearfully, for the 'Juan' before him was making him feel edgy. It felt alike yet alien to his 'Cuddly Juan', and so he was not as comfortable as he would have been. Add to that the fact that Juan's brain and mind was now N-Gen, and he had not been in a meld with Juan as an N-Gen – not even in the time on the Tardis.

Juan nodded. "Yeah... I'll remember all this happening. As a matter of fact, I think it's time to do away with this bullshit. There is only one person I need to heal my mind, and it's the same person that has done it every other time. Think you could help me heal, and maybe it'll help you some?"

Joel nodded slowly and watched with fascination as a door opened in the wall behind 'Juan' and Juan entered. The two Juans seemed to flow together like water, and then Joel started sobbing with a mix of joy and grief. It really was Juan, now, and he could feel his friend's love as well as fear at seeing him there. He must have hurt Juan a lot. Joel slipped to his knees and bowed his head sorrowfully as he continued to sob, trying to say sorry, yet his voice breaking before he could even form the first syllable.

Juan sunk down to his knees in front of the sobbing boy, and lifted his chin. "Look at me," Juan said softly, and made eye contact with Joel's two perfectly healthy eyes. "We're in my mind now, and I have a lot more control over it now that I did the last time you were here. I know you can see perfectly fine, so follow me."

Joel wasn't used to this forceful Juan, but he followed as the boy pulled him to his feet and grabbed his hand. They walked out of the arms locker. When Juan opened the door, Joel immediately stiffened. He didn't need to guess where they were, he knew. This was one of the worst memories Juan had to fight through to make himself whole.

Together, they walked into a small bedroom, the Winnie the Pooh night light gave more then enough light for them to see by. Up against one of the walls was a crib. Joel knew full well what they would see in the crib. This was the baby that Juan was made to kill.

Hand in hand, they walked over to the crib, but this time, there was no baby in it. "I used to come here many times a day before you helped me. However, since I was healed I haven't been back once."

"Why... why are we here now?" Joel asked in a trembling voice.

"Simple. You taught me why I don't need to come back here. See, I used to come here and cry, asking the baby to forgive me. Begging it even, but it never worked; I could never feel the forgiveness that I needed. But you made me realize something. YOU!" he said squeezing Joel's hand gently. "You made me realize that it wasn't my fault the baby died. Yeah, I pulled the trigger, but I didn't have a choice. I didn't really know what I was doing, just doing what I was told. What I HAD to do to survive."

Juan walked over to the crib, reached in, and pulled his Rambo teddy bear from inside. This wasn't the one who he now called son, the one he helped to create on the Tardis, but the one that Joel gave back to him. He ran a trembling hand over the bear's face, then turned and handed it to Joel. "You taught me something that is the most important thing I have ever learned. YOU taught me not to hate myself for what happened, but to hate the situation that forced me to do what I did. Had I had the choice, I would never have killed this baby, but dwelling on that only leads to more pain and suffering in here," Juan said as he placed Joel's hand over his own heart.

"Had you had the choice," Juan continued while staring into Joel's eyes, "you never would have hurt me the way you did. But you know what? I forgive you."

Both boys had tears streaming down their faces by this point. Juan leaned in and kissed Joel on his forehead. "Now forgive yourself," he whispered as he enveloped Joel in a fierce bear-hug.

"I don't know if I can," Joel wailed forlornly. "I understand, but I can't feel it... I don't know if I can forgive myself..."

"I didn't know either," Juan whispered back, "but you showed me that it isn't feelings. It's will. It's making a choice... so you make the choice, my little soldier. Choose to forgive yourself."

Shaking and sobbing, Joel lifted his legs and latched on around Juan's waist, allowing the larger and stronger boy to hold him up in his arms. Joel pressed his face into the crook of Juan's neck and just let all the pain he felt flow out of him, causing him to soak his friend's neck with his salty tears.

"I forgive you," Juan murmured. "I am your brother, and I love you so very, very much. I could no more hold this against you than I could have done against Adam... I love you, Elf."

"I... I love you too, Juan..." Joel replied with a sniff. Then, almost too quiet for even Juan to hear, Joel whispered, "I forgive you, Joel... I... I forgive you."

Juan squeezed Joel tighter for a moment. Then he heard Joel say louder, "I forgive you... Me. I forgive me." The tears in his Lil'elf's voice were slowly disappearing, and the shaking in his body was winding down. "I forgive myself," Joel finished softly before pulling back and kissing Juan's lips. It was a long kiss, but a normal brother one, just lips to lips. "I love you, Juan... thank you."

"No," Juan said softly as his own eyes leaked a few tears. "No, thank you, Joel. You're the only brother who has done what you've done for me. Because you are the only brother I have that I trust enough who has the power. Would I have done less for you?"

After a long moment, Joel shook his head. A smile played over his lips, and then a giggle came which lifted Juan's heart.

"Are you going to stay out of that 'room' now?" Joel asked with a whisper.

Juan nodded as he looked back around the babies room. "Yeah. I think I have a better room to put here now."

Without a sound, the room changed to the room that Joel had had while he was on the Tardis; the one that he and Joel had made love in for the first time, with Kevin's blessing.

Joel blushed and kissed Juan again. "What about the inside of the Mech? We had fun there too. And the Equipment room, where Kevvy watched..."

"The perv," Juan giggled.

"Uh huh... and the..."

"I remember them all, Joel," Juan sniggered. "But this is special."

"You made me feel safe, my Silver Knight," Joel agreed, this time making Juan blush. "I just hope you have a special room for you and Koth in here."

Juan giggled, "I don't need that, Elf. I can remember that each time Koth and I sleep together."

Joel nodded, but the smile fell from his lips. "It could be a long time before I can do that with Kevvy or you again," he trembled.

Juan's own smile vanished as well. "I know. You know that I know. Kev understands, Elf. He'll always be waiting there, ready for when you are."

Joel nodded again, then sighed. "Thank you. Shall we go back out now?"

"Yeah," Juan smiled...

... and they felt each other slip away from the meld.

But to Juan, something remained behind. Something that hadn't happened in the other melds.

At the door to that special room they had just left stood a figure. A figure in Silver, Glowing Armour.

Joel.

---

Janet looked at the two smiling boys as they 'woke' up. "Everything okay now?" she asked for everyone there.

Juan and Joel both nodded, but it was Juan's comment that made her know everything was alright. "Yup! Now... can I go find someone to kill?"

"Tommy's making gingerbread soldier men," Kevin offered with a giggle. "You could 'munch them to death', if you want?"

"Ehhh... I guess it'll work." Juan then looked at Joel, "You wanna bite off the heads or the asses first?"

Moving his head in the general direction of Juan's face, Joel giggled, "Which ever end has the most sugar!"

Juan laughed, then looked up as Nine moved off of the biobed. "Oh, holy FUCK! What happened to you?" he asked in shock.

Nine, while looking fairly human, still had not put his left 'eye' in, nor attached his left 'arm'. Besides, since both the hand and normal looking eye attachment were still in CIC, if he had attached the ocular viewer and the toolarm, he'd have gotten the same reaction.

With a soft smile, Nine reached and picked up the ocular viewer and the connection inside of his left eye started to move out by about an inch. His eyelids were pulled back automatically as he fixed the device in place. There was an audible 'click' as the sub-tissue electromagnets took hold and held the main body of the viewer against his head. He then picked up his toolarm and clicked that into place.

Juan whistled.

"We are the Borg," Nine said, his voice choral to add effect. He glanced at Austin, "Lower your pants and surrender your anus. We will..."

"NO MORE!" Austin howled as he buried his face in his hands.

Janet raised her eyebrows, "I believe Nine is in good spirits."

"So it would seem," Spock stated blandly.

Juan jumped up and ran over to Nine, and closely inspected the arm attachment. "Holy shit! Now THAT's a gun... how do I get one?"

"It is not just a gun," Nine said. "However, if you wish, I could..."

"No assimilations," Austin stated, recovering from his blush. "Besides, I think Juan might be resistant."

Juan looked a little puzzled at the byplay.

Nine did not respond, but lifted his toolarm and started scanning Juan. "New Species Identified. Designation: 10265 – Human/lower species cross plus Klingon anatomy, Species 5825. Ka'Inri genome present, Species 10262. Full Designation: 10265/5825-CSC-10262. Human Biological enhancement primitive, but effective. Danger level: low physical, high mental. Possible outcome of conflict, unknown at this time. Assimilation success, 98.456% probable."

Juan looked at Joel and grinned, "Great... another Vulcan type person... just what this universe needed."

"Species 3259, Vulcan, has mental advancements that I don't have. I am newly freed from the Collective, and I sometimes lapse into a mode of speech common to the Borg," Nine explained to Juan. "If you wished it, I could assimilate you, but know that you would have to undergo extensive surgery to be able to have the toolarm I have. It would also mean your mind and mine become one until I could work on a separate mind Borg subroutine. I have found that non-Borg do not wish to lose their individuality, so I doubt you would care for such a situation."

"Hmmm... the surgeries part? No problem. Been there, then, done that, burned the t-shirt. The linking of minds, not to sure... I mean I don't know if you could handle hanging out in my head," Juan said with a smirk.

Nine looked at Austin, who nodded and said, "He's nuts."

"Now I am intrigued," Nine said seriously. He looked down at Kevin, and then over to where Joel was sitting. The Vulcan nodded his hooded head, showing that he was once again watching through Kevin's eyes. "I could start an assimilation, and direct the nanoprobes to simply initiate the mind link. It would be entirely reversible; within minutes, in fact. It is one of the new upgrades I have, to determine if a species or person is worthy of being Borg."

"Go on, then," Juan giggled. "I dare you... as long as you promise you can stop it if I don't like it," he added seriously.

Nine again looked at Joel, who again nodded; although this time more slowly. He then looked up at Janet, who was about to have kittens, it seemed.

"Are you sure?" Nine asked Juan finally.

"Yes," Juan grinned.

"Okay," Nine said as he raised his right hand and impaled Juan's neck with the nanoprobe injectors that lashed out quickly.

"GODDAMNFUICKINGSONOFABITCH!" Jaun shouted as he moved his hand up to rip out the tubes, but as his hand started to make contact, he found that his body was no longer under his control. Nor was his mind. In fact, both he and Nine were now, in effect, one.

"Interesting," they said in unison. "We have the urge to rip the nuts of a pervert, the spleen out of a child abuser and the eyes out of a rapist. We also have the urge to screw the living crap out of Austin and Koth."

Austin pulled his giggling sons in front of himself as if to shield himself from the staring eyes of Juan.

Juan shuddered for a moment, and Nine removed the nanoprobe injectors. Juan grinned at Nine, while fingering the fast healing holes in his neck, "That was kewl!"

"Yes. You have an... interesting... world view," Nine giggled.

"Thanks... I think," Juan giggled.

Janet groaned, "Oh no... not another one!"

"We are Juan of Borg. Do not lower you shields for we would prefer to blast away more at them. Surrender your hope at a painless death, for we are both HARD CORE KILLING MACHINES... and cute too... your cuteness resistance is futile!" both Nine and Juan giggled in unison, obviously having planned this when linked.

Janet muttered, "I think I need a drink."

Juan stopped giggling and looked thoughtfully at Nine. He felt a small body squirrel up next to him and quickly pulled Joel into the circle of his arms.

"You're thinking of becoming Borg?" Joel asked.

"Yeah," Juan said seriously. "I'd lose myself for a while, but I think Nine and I could figure out how to separate our minds again. I dunno... what do you think, Elf?"

Joel sighed and sniffed, "I dunno."

Juan looked back up and Nine and started to open his mouth to ask something when he had a sudden flash of foresight. "No. No, I don't think I will. Or need to," he muttered. Looking confused, he hugged Joel tighter, "I think I just had a pre-cog flash that Jason warned me of, Elf. Sorry, Nine," he said as he looked back up into his new friend's face. "I think I will remain just me, thanks."

Nine smiled and nodded, "It was still an experience. Thank you."

"You're most welcome, kind Sir Borg" Juan giggled as he curtseyed mockingly. "But I still want that arm gun thingy!"

"Sorry. No Borg, no 'arm gun thingy'," Nine giggled. "Do you want to see me fire my weapon, though?" Nine asked, knowing the answer.

Austin interrupted, "You're supposed to save 'firing your weapon' for when you're with me."

"Not that weapon," Nine giggled.

Juan grinned and grabbed Nine, then Joel, Kevin and Levi. With a quick thought sent to Daileass, they disappeared... and re-appeared in the exact same spot less then a second later. Juan looked totally confused until Daileass' voice was heard, 'Uhh... I kinda forgot. Do you guys mind being transported to Juan's firing range?'

Levi, Joel and Kevin broke out in giggles and shook their heads no, while Austin, Leo and Conner came close to them. "Us too, Daileass," Austin grinned.

"Be back in three hours, Sa'ren," Spock said.

"Okay, Daddy!" Joel smiled from under his hood.

"Might as well go home and keep these boys out of mischief," Janet sighed. "I'll see you around, Spock, T'Pol. Nice working with you again, Leonard – at least this was more pleasant than the last time."

Daileass, being the impatient twelve year old that he was, quickly snatched the entire group away before the adults could become even more verbose.

---

Janet was carefully deposited in the Camp's infirmary – specifically in the commode storage room, in the dark, with only Daileass' giggles to keep her company. Her yells were easily drowning out the AI's laughter. The boys, however, all appeared at Juan's firing range to find Jory, Donna, Tristan, Adam, Logan, Amur Khan, Runt, Chang, Koth, Korris, Billy and Will having a shooting competition without Juan showing them up. The two cheetahs, Artemus and Aphrodite all appeared at the same time, just so that they wouldn't freak out at being away from Joel.

"Pay up, brother," Chang said to Adam, who pulled out a few dollars from his pocket and grumbled as he gave them to Chang.

"What was that for?" Juan asked.

"It is simple. I bet Adam that you would never allow us to have a shooting competition without you showing up to 'show us how it is done'."

"Well, you're sort of right," Juan said with a grin, then pointed to Nine. "This is my new friend, and he has a BIG gun that he wants to show me, so kindly 'CLEAR THE LINE!'" Juan shouted as everyone else laughed and stepped back.

Adam ran his gaze over Nine and sniggered, "Did you forget to let your new friend dress? It's cold up in the mountains."

"Oops!" Juan exclaimed, but Nine laughed.

"Do not worry. We are not cold. We can survive temperatures of minus 100 degrees centigrade to positive 150 without our thermal armour," Nine explained, lapsing into 'Borg Speak' in nervousness at the strange group of boys around him.

"What happened to your arm and eye?" Runt asked in a small voice, for Nine post-operations still looked a little like a walking nightmare with the devices still on him.

Nine turned to gaze at Runt, his laser flashing visibly in the afternoon air. "We are a cyborg. This was done to us by our Collective," he said softly.

Joel moved a little forward and reached out blindly to find Amur's arm. Smiling, he lowered his hood and then lifted Amur's ever-present robe before shimmying up to have his head appear next to the large tiger's. "You're warm," was Joel's soft explanation as the tiger-teen started to purr. "You don't mind, do you, Runt?"

Runt giggled, "No. I like doing that too!"

Juan pulled Nine close to his side and started pointing out his brothers, friends and finally Koth. "And this is Nine of Twelve, formally of the Borg Collective. He's kewl! Now, show us this Boom-Stick of yours!"

Nine smiled and gazed out over the range. "Can you make this challenging?" he asked with a twinkle in his right eye that only Chang caught.

Juan giggled, "Sure! Okay! The bet on who can hit all the targets – including the moving ones – in the fastest time. Between you and me."

"What are the odds on Nine winning?" Chang asked seriously.

Juan stood there for a moment considering, "Well, I know this is breaking with my normal protocol, but... I have a feeling I will lose this one if I bet, so I wil play it smart."

Chang smiled and stated, "Then, in honour of our new friend, I shall pay the winner 100 dollars. But my bet is on Nine."

"And I thought you were my brother!" Juan giggled, trying to look hurt but failing miserably.

"You first, Juan of Borg," Nine giggled.

Juan walked over to the little counter that ran the back length of the range, and opened up his favourite gun case. When he pulled out the Barrett .50 cal sniper rifle, some of the people there could not help but chuckle at the fact that the rifle was taller then Juan was.

Totally ignoring the giggling, Juan pulled out the tripod legs and set the rifle down on the range counter. He then took out a fresh clip and slammed it home. Cocking the rifle, he turned and nodded to Adam, who hit the button that sent all the moving targets into motion. Juan took a deep breath and sighted down. Sixteen seconds and three clips later, Juan stopped as all 18 of the targets now had hole almost perfectly dead centre.

"Good. Very good, for your species," Nine giggled as Juan packed away the weapon.

"Oh yeah? Go on then, do better!" Juan challenged as he came back to stand with the others.

"I'll replace the targets," Adam said, but Nine raised his right hand to signal him not to.

"That would be a waste. You can replace them after I take my shot," he said.

Juan's eyes opened wide for an instant. "Shot? Just one?"

"It might be an idea to cover your ears," he said, "especially you, my big tiger friend," he added to Khan.

They all did so, and Kevin kept his bond-link active with Joel so that the Vulcan could 'see' the results of this challenge.

Nine nodded to Adam, who set the targets moving again. Then, once Adam had covered his ears completely, Nine took aim with his laser sighter. It rapidly fixed each target, his mind determined the correct trajectory of them, and he raised his toolarm.

The near sonic boom as the anti-proton weapon discharged was stunning, even with their ears covered. The result was all the targets blown away entirely.

'Uh... two seconds...' Daileass said in a stunned voice.

Jory and Juan were too busy with the joy-gasm the highly loud and destructive weapon had given them to comment.

"Okay, that's it... I don't care about no future shit... I want that right fucking NOW!!!!!" Juan almost screamed.

Jory jumped in real quick, "Me too... I want one too!"

Both boys were now almost whining, they were begging so much.

Juan went one step further and grabbed Nine's right hand and slammed it against his neck. "Come oooooonnnnnnn!" he whined. "Perrrleeeeeeassssseeeeee??????"

"Not a fucking hope in hell am I allowing THAT fucking destructive thing to be put onto, in or NEAR you two headcases!" Adam near screamed as he tried to get his hearing back. "Not while I draw breath!"

"I agree," Chang added as he wiggled his fingers in his ears. "I, on the other hand, would be quite responsible with such a weapon," he added, a sidelong grin thrown at Adam for good measure.

Will spoke up briefly. "Hey.. think I could get one of those for my helicopter?"

"That's it! I'm getting Mom!" Adam yelled. Secretly, however, both he and Logan were quite interested and were discussing the possibilities with telepathy.

Nine laughed at them all before saying, "Right now, I do not think it would be wise for you to become Borg. The cons outweigh the pros, and the singular consciousness is the biggest hurdle to overcome."

Logan cocked his head to the side for a moment as if listening to something, then grinned, "Hey, Nine, I just heard from Jamie and Jacob that you helped out one of my friends; Austin, here. Let's see what we can do to help you." Briefly Logan closed his eyes, and then suddenly Nine was added to the Link that Logan maintained for his clone brothers.

Nine's eye widened for a moment as the voices came flooding in. Also, there was a feeling of curiosity from the clones. It was large. Connected to the Clone link was Adam, but it seemed he could not fully participate in the way that Logan could with his biological AI siblings. They were all fully aware of each other's minds at all times, while Adam needed to focus to do so. Even as an N-Gen, he could not consciously listen to all 15 minds in the main link at once.

Beyond that, however, Nine sensed an even larger Collective, all mildly linked to the core – the rest of the base.

It was not a true Collective as the Borg, nor what Jamie, Jacob and Beau had... but it was damned close.

Nine reached out and suddenly had full awareness of what everyone in the base was thinking, saying, doing and feeling – both emotionally and physically. They, however, were unaware of the presence.

"A Collective..." Nine whispered.

"How the fuck did you do that?!" Adam said in shock as he, Logan and the clones all felt and experienced the same thing: Nine had made the full connection equally open to the whole core.

"Because we allowed it," Nine said, lapsing into Borg speak in his joy. He released the minds of the Unit complex and stopped sharing the full link with those present. The clones were now, of course, leaving the Command Centre and running at full tilt to their older brother's location.

---

Camp Bam Bam:

He sighed as he rolled out of the Med-Bay. Having just had another check up with Doctor Gordan, he was now feeling as low as he had just before being saved by the Unit and the Clan last week. All that high technology and they couldn't get his legs to work again; nor his left hand. Nor his eyes. 'Damn that man,' he thought as he made his way carefully down the corridor, only being able to distinguish light and dark and shapes moving past him. Already this morning had he received the news, but a full check only confirmed it.

The reason for his rescue was simple: a neighbour had called the Clan Hotline on his behalf when they had heard the chaos taking place in his house. The reason for the chaos? He had come out to his father. Who then snapped his spine, crushed most of the bones and ligaments in his hand and blinded him with a lighter and repeated beatings around his head.

The tears were flowing faster and faster as he got into the lift to take him up to the entrance level. He wanted to feel the sun on his face – just once more before he went back to his quarters and... no. He refused to think upon that right now.

As he rolled into the lift, he found that there were quite a number of others there with him.

"Hey, Buck! How're you doing?" Theodore asked as he placed a hand on the twelve-year-old's shoulder.

"So so," Buck whispered sadly.

"Bad news, huh?" Zed asked as he bounced on his heels with nervous energy.

Buck sighed, "You might say that. Dr Gordan can't do anything to help me."

"Ah, shit," Tilden sighed. "Sorry, man. That sucks."

Alvin also laid a hand on Buck's shoulder with Theodore and squeezed lightly. "Come on, bro. There's someone new here we're all going to see."

"Don't feel like it," Buck whispered.

"Joel's there," Simon giggled knowingly.

Buck raised his face up a bit. While he could not really take part in anything in the Tardis training time, he had gone and learnt a lot about systems and procedures – mainly, the clones had all befriended him on his arrival in the Camp and they had insisted on taking him with them; much like, as Buck had giggled, a group of kids want their pet with them at all times. He had said it as an underhanded slap at his 'worthless' self, but the Clones found it funny. He was now their 'pet', and they would do anything to keep him happy.

And it was in the Tardis that Buck had met Joel and Kevin. "Kev there too?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah," Richard said seriously, "but... do you know what was going on this morning?"

"No. Heard the alarms, but I wasn't told. Why?"

"Joel... well... you better ask him for the details, but Joel got hurt badly," Alvin said softly. "And I think he might need your advice on something too."

"What can I do?" Buck asked as he felt his heart grow cold and heavy in his chest. "Unless he's lame or blind, what can I he... oh, no. Don't say he's lost his legs too?!"

"No," Rainer whispered. "His sight."

Buck buried his face in his hands and simply let the Clones roll his wheelchair out of the lift and out through the main doors into the afternoon sunshine. "Why does this shit happen?" he asked rhetorically.

The Clones all shrugged and remained quiet, and kept on towards Juan's 'Playground'. They never made it, for a large group of teens and kids were already walking their way. Janet was also walking toward the group and reached them at the same time as the Clones and Buck.

Simon started laughing, for one of the boys was naked. Then he stopped as he saw the devices on the 'boy', and the tube running up his left arm to his shoulder. "Fuck!"

Buck, obviously, couldn't see anything amiss. "What's wrong?"

"If this is General Adams' work, I'm making a time machine and going back to hurt him more," Simon spat as they got to the group surrounding Nine.

"It is not," Nine said to them.

"You heard that?" Simon asked in shock.

"Yes. Good hearing," Nine smiled. He scanned them all and stated, "New Species. Designation: 10266 – Human body, positronic brain. Different from Austin and those called 'Androids'. Threat level, zero."

"I wonder what he'd classify us as?" Chang wondered aloud.

Nine turned and scanned him. "Designation 10265/5825-CSC-10262 – same as Juan. Threat level: physical, low. Mental, high."

"Sweet," Koth and Korris giggled. "Us next!" Koth grinned.

Nine scanned them both and placed them in the same category as Chang. Then he scanned Will, "New Species identified... another one? What is it with this Universe? Designation: 10265 – Human Biological Enhancement. Primitive yet effective technology. Threat level, low."

"Now I'm insulted," Will giggled.

"Hush!" Jory laughed. "Remember, he has THE GUN."

"Uh huh... riiiight," Will retorted.

Nine scanned Jory. "Same as William. 10265."

Then he scanned Logan. "Generational unique leap," he said in awe. "Species 5618-AA. Psionic with pure genetic structure. Unheard of."

Adam whistled, "I always knew my boyfriend was special, but DAMN!"

Nine scanned him. "New Species Identified. Designation: 10265-CSC-10262 – Human Biological Enhancement with Ka'Inri genome present. Threat level: physical, medium. Mental, high."

"He didn't call me primitive," Adam smirked at Will and Jory.

"That is a given," Nine said straight-faced, then laughed at the look Adam gave him.

Nine scanned Amur Khan and put him in the same group as the other cats he had scanned earlier that afternoon. Billy, Tristan, Donna and Runt were classified as standard human, but Runt had an A placed after his designation. "Top of my class? Kewl!" the small teen chuckled.

"You invited this crazy person to join our link?" Todd sniggered.

"Yes," Logan smiled. "I like him, and you saw what he did WITH the link."

"Which is why we came looking for you!"

"Who's looking after the Command Room?" Adam asked suddenly.

"Daileass and Draco," Zed giggled.

"Why is that funny?" asked Donna.

"Because they were in the middle of some perverted AI sex marathon, and we made them work instead. They know words we don't!" Simon laughed.

Adam shook his head as he simply gave up.

Nine, however, was looking at the teen in the wheelchair. "What is your designation?" he asked him.

Buck looked up at the shadow standing before him. "Huh?"

"He means your name," Austin supplied.

"Buck. Buck Rogers, and don't you dare laugh," Buck answered quietly.

Joel sniggered from inside of Amur Khan's robe, where he was still keeping warm.

"Elf? I know that laugh. Come here, Elf," Buck called softly as he raised his good arm towards the largest shadow.

One fast scramble later, and a cat bitterly complaining about having Joel's bare foot nearly crushing his nuts, and Joel was on Buck's lap having a cuddle.

"Want me to kiss them better, Puss-wuss?" Runt asked with a giggle.

"Don't call me 'Puss-wuss'," Amur grumbled in semi-cat, which only Runt understood.

Runt jumped up and down with joy for a few moments and then scrambled under Khan's robe, yelling, "You didn't tell me 'no', Puss!"

Khan stopped talking right about then and his eyes went wide.

"Runt's gonna get a 'hair-ball'!" Alvin sing-songed.

Kevin sniggered, "Don't you mean 'balls'?"

"Hush," Alvin giggled.

Nine ignored all this as he was busy scanning Buck and muttering to himself. "Why have you not had operations to correct these problems?" he asked finally.

Janet almost jumped towards Nine, "Even with our advanced medical facilities, we haven't been able to do much for him. Logan, please share with Nine what we know about Buck."

Janet was in full Mom mode now, so Logan only nodded, and suddenly Nine had a telepathic memory dump of everything that was known about what happened to Buck.

Nine processed the data and then looked full at Janet, "Crushed and severed lower spinal cord, inoperable by all known medical facilities at this time. Eyes could be replaced by the Androids, but with a 63% chance of neural failure. Hand could be replaced with Android technology, but the operation would be extensive due to nerve damage."

"Sounds about right," Buck whimpered.

Kevin looked over at Levi, the obvious question in his eye. Levi shook his head and sent, 'I've checked with my Friend. He says something else is meant to happen... right now!'

And 'happen' it did. Nine looked down at Buck, "I can help you," he said. "But..."

"You'd have to make him Borg?" Joel completed suddenly.

"Yes," Nine nodded. "I am not willing to do so, however, until I can stop the Borg-style Collective happening."

"I can do that," Joel said. He went silent for a moment and then Kevin moved over and pointed at a small box-like device that was just under Nine's right ear. Joel said, "That device is the focus for the link. Once a conversion has taken place, all Collective information is moved from the organic to the synthetic. If you do not install that device in Buck, he will retain his mind. He will be linked to you, but more like the link I have with Kev, or you have with Austie."

Buck's nearly blind and milky looking eyes seemed to fill with hope. "What's involved?" he asked.

Nine turned to Janet and said, "Joel, please explain. I will need to talk to Dr. Hayes."

"Call me Aunt Janet, or just Janet, or you'll find me more terrible than the Borg," she growled playfully at him.

"Thank you," Nine smiled. Then he gestured to the side and began to talk to her as Joel explained everything to Buck.

"So," Buck said eventually, "I'll have to have my eyes replaced, and my left hand... what about my spine and legs?"

"I don't know about that. I think if that was going to be a problem, Nine would have said," Joel said. "Maybe he can jump the damaged part of your spine with the implants."

"How are we going to make these implants and devices, Joel?" Chang asked quickly. "The technology seems very high."

"Dunno. Ark, maybe? But I don't think the metals and alloys are found on Earth, so It might not be able to help."

Janet walked back to them as Nine headed off into the base looking for something. "Nine said he can replicate what is needed. His toolarm can do it with enough power," she explained.

"That's what he's looking for?" Will asked as he watched the Borg enter the base stark naked. He giggled when he heard a teenage girl's shriek of surprise and shock from just inside the hangar bay door.

"Yes," Janet laughed. "And I think I better get him some clothes."

"I don't think Malinda was screaming about seeing his dick," Adam chuckled as the teen girl in question ran out of the doors looking completely scandalised.

Austin started laughing at the message sent to him over his bond with Nine.

"What?" Kevin asked.

"He called her a flakey chick," Austin howled with mirth.

"Why?" Joel sniggered.

"Because he asked if he could use her 'toolbox' to help him create another of his species and she started screaming!" Austin managed to reply as he fell down and beat the ground with his hands.

Malinda reached them looking scandalized. "I refuse to simply be a broodmare for some man," she said hotly to them. "Of course, this one seems too young to have adequate equipment and stamina, but if he does....." she let the thought dwindle off with a smirk.

Austin glared up at her. "My boyfriend. Leave him alone!" he giggled.

"He came on to me!" she exclaimed.

Joel, laughing, shook his head. On seeing the little Vulcan – now with his hood pulled down due to Buck wanting to 'see' as much of him as possible – Malinda scooped him up to hug him. Joel whispered, "He really was after your toolbox, Lindy, not your girly parts."

Nine's voice echoed out of the hanger door and reached them just as Malinda opened her mouth to answer them, "And my stamina is likely greater than yours, Species 10265. But Austin is correct. He has the only port for my plug."

"Meep!" Austin squeaked yet again.

"Do you need to go back to Marc for software upgrades?" Kaden asked solicitously as everyone one started laughing at the poor boy. "It appears your positronics are misfiring, causing strange meeping noises."

Austin didn't have a chance to reply.

'First you stop me massaging Draco's systems, then you let some fucking shithead cyborg rip out one of my power conduits??!'Daileass started screaming at them over their communicators as a massive ripping noise was heard from inside the base. "HE'S WORSE THAN THEM DAMNED FERRETS!!"

"What?!" Adam and Logan screeched at the top of their lungs.

Alvin simply opened up the link to Nine's mind. 'What are you doing?' he asked.

In reply, all the Clones, Logan and Adam became very still as Nine formed the more Borg-like link-up and let them in on what he was doing.

Janet damn near had kittens when all 15 boys and Daileass said at the same time, "Message received. We will comply."

They all scattered and ran into the hangar bay at full tilt and more ripping noises started.

Draco then put in his ten pence worth, 'Ferrets be damned! They're LOCUSTS! WHAT THE FUCKING HELL?!'

Daileass voice rang out throughout the base, 'All hands. Be aware that all fusion generators are going to full power. All back up generators are coming online. Please leave all non-essential areas. The disruption to your off duty tasks will take about half an hour. Thank you.'

'If I don't get my boyfriend back with all his positrons firing right, Austin, yours gets beamed into the sun. Okay?' Draco grouched at them all before heading off to sulk some place.

Janet looked impressed. "It took us over two hours to remove parts of Nine's systems, and he's going to do a full Borg change in half an hour?!"

Joel shrugged. "He's the Borg. He's efficient!"

Buck trembled at the noise still coming from inside the doors. "Will this hurt?" he asked Janet slowly.

She reached and took his right hand tightly. "I will make sure it won't. I might not be able to help with what Nine's doing, but I can make sure you're feeling nothing while it happens. I promise."

Juan walked over and carefully sat in the boy's lap next to Joel. He hugged the older boy, then leaned in a whispered into his ear, "After this, I think you and I are gonna be really good friends... you're gonna have one of the biggest guns around here, and someone's gonna have to teach you how to shoot."

Of course, Buck wasn't exactly sure what 'kind' of gun Juan was talking about.

"We are ready," Adam's voice echoed out from the hangar bay.

Janet called back as they started walking over, "Are you yourself again?"

"We are always ourself," Adam giggled, playing it up for all he was worth. "We are the ADAM! Hear us ROAR!"

"That's my job," Khan called back as he walked oddly towards the doors. "Runt, you can get off my leg, now."

"Foot-rides! Sorry, PAW-rides! Fun!" Runt's voice giggled out from beneath the robes. "Shall I make you go faster?"

"What do you meeee.... OH!" Khan stopped as a weird smile came to his face. "Tell you guys what! I'm going back to my quarters! Tell me how this turns out, okay?"

"Gee! I dunno," Runt giggled. "You really want to, Puss-wuss?"

Khan was about to reply, but whatever Runt had done the first time was done again and he started running for his quarters in answer.

Snickering, Janet rolled her eyes and said, "Teenagers!"

"I resemble that remark!" Logan shouted.

"Yeah, but Khan don't use BBQ sauce!"

"He did once, but it got stuck in his fur," the obviously blushing Logan yelled back as they all walked in through the door.

Joel gasped, and, looking through Kevin's eyes, started pointing out the new structure over next to Will's favourite Blackhawk. "That's Borg! Wow!"

Alvin breathed on his knuckles and polished them against his tee-shirt, "We do good work. Fuck knows what it all does, but we did good anyway. Mamma? We have your med-kit as well. Zed went for it. He's the fastest."

"That's only cos you said you'd let Nine replace my wiener with a synthetic muff," Zed grumbled as he bounced about with his boundless, nervous energy.

Kevin was behind Buck's wheelchair and pushing it along with Will, while Joel and the lazy-ass-Juan had a ride on Buck's lap. As they got to the table that had been made by Nine and the rest, Buck asked, "What happens now?"

Nine moved up to him. "First, this is your choice entirely. I will inject you with the nanoprobes after Aunt Janet has numbed your nervous system. Once they have completed the first stage of the assimilation, we shall complete the rest. In total, this will take twenty three point six minutes."

"Then I can walk and see again?" Buck asked hesitantly.

"Yes," Nine said in a near whisper. "This is not reversible. Much of what you will be will remain for the rest of your life, so you must make this decision carefully."

"Oh," Buck said.

"And," Nine added, "you will never grow up nor die of natural causes."

"Say that again?!"

"The nanoprobes I carry are now different than when I was made as I am. They are putting out metaphasic radiation which will keep you as you are – forever, unless you are killed or die of a disease not curable by the nanoprobes."

Buck cuddled the two boys on his lap tighter and tucked his face into Joel's neck for a moment. He then looked up as best he were able and said, "What good is growing up if I can't walk or see or anything? I'd rather die now... sorry, Joel, I know you're blind worse than me, but..."

"I feel the same way," Joel trembled slightly, "but I have Kevvy to help me see."

"Will I be alone?" Buck asked Nine tentatively.

"Never. I shall always be there. So shall Austin. You will never be without a Collective... a family," Nine answered him gently.

"Do it," Buck said as he gathered in his courage.

Juan and Joel slipped from his lap and Juan walked Joel over to Kevin and Levi's side.

Janet came over and pressed a hypo against Buck's neck, the hiss very loud in the silence of the room. Buck wiggled as he felt his body become numb, yet his mind remained clear.

"Do not be afraid of what will happen," Nine said as he moved even closer and raised his right hand. "Once you are joined with me temporarily, all will seem natural."

"Okay," Buck answered as the nanoprobe injectors slid into his neck, and the nanoprobes started their 'thing'.

It seemed horrible to the others watching, especially when a small circular device sprang out of Buck's skin on his face just under his left cheekbone.

Five minutes later, Nine said, "It is done. We will now proceed to the second stage."

Buck stood up and walked to the table, unseeing and semi-unknowing. Janet gasped, "You repaired his spine?"

Nine did not answer straight away. Buck stopped at the table and just stood there as Nine and Zed quickly stripped him down. At his lower back, another device had appeared, and two more in the middle of his back. Nine pointed at them and said, "Neural-routers."

Buck climbed onto the bed and lay down, and Nine walked around and raised his toolarm. "You might wish to look away," he told the rest of them before deftly plucking out both of Buck's eyes and starting to work on the internal sockets.

Kevin decided that then was a good point to close his eyes, much to the bitching he received for doing so from Joel. Janet managed to keep her eyes on what was going on, but when a circular saw appeared from the end of Nine's left arm and sliced off Buck's own left arm just below the elbow, she went for another drink. A strong one.

Juan watched in fascination, as did most of the other Unit members.

In exactly twenty-three point six minutes, a newborn Borg was sitting up at the table. His right eye was now silver, just like Nine's right eye. Over his left was a similar device to Nine's visual system. He had the same tube running from his left elbow and up to his shoulder and the same style toolarm in place. Next to him, on the table, a normal-shaped left lower arm and hand was lying, along with another silver coloured eye device. Nine was showing him how to attach the items at will, and explaining what the tools did.

"I have stopped you from assimilating someone without my sending the coded signal. If ever you need to speak to me, you can do so down the link as I showed you. You are also linked into the Clone network with me," Nine finished as he transferred the standard Borg operating procedures directly into Buck's mind. "How do you feel?"

"Like brand new," Buck wept as he attached his left hand adaptation. Like Nine's, back at the Orlando compound, it was matte black in colour, but felt like flesh. "Can the colour be changed on this?" he asked.

"Tell the nanoprobes what to do, and they shall do it. When you remove it, however, it will revert, but each time you attach it, the probes will change to the new default settings," Nine answered as he watched Buck's left hand and lower arm change colour to match his pale skin tone.

Buck flexed his hand experimentally. "Feels normal."

"Yes," Nine smiled. "You can get dressed now, Buck of Borg."

"Thank you, Nine of Borg," Buck giggled. Then his right eye narrowed, "Commander Casey?" he said turning to Adam. "I wish to pay my sperm donor a visit."

"Permission granted," Adam nodded with a knowing smile.

Nine smiled. "Vengeance!"

"Tomorrow," Buck said as he stood to his feet and pulled on his clothes. He then replaced his ocular attachment with the normal looking eye one and smiled around at everyone. "This... this is..."

Janet came back with her drink and smiled at him, "Glad you like it, Buck."

"Me too," Buck cried happily as all his Clone friends gathered around him to start hugging him.

Gabe went one step further and laid a long kiss on Buck's lips, then he blushed when he realised what he had done.

"Awwww," Kevin giggled as he watched. "A Borg love story... two of them!" he added as Nine caught Austin in a serious lip-lock.

Gabe blushed more, and Buck simply looked shocked until a shy smile came to his face.

Tilden grinned evilly and said, "Looks like the 25th century wasn't fun enough, so Captain Rogers came back to corrupt our brother!"

Buck glowered at him, "Well then, bot-boy: if I'm THAT Buck Rogers, which of you 'droids are going to be my Twiki?"

"Biddy-biddy-biddy-biddy," Alvin giggled, "what's up, Buck?"

"Oh God... I shouldn't have said anything," Buck sighed with a nervous glance at Gabe – who kissed him again to make everything better.

Joel then gasped and his blind eye went wide, "Oh, what time is it?"

"2.43pm, Joel," Juan replied as he checked his Duke Nukam wristwatch.

"We gotta get back to see Justy," Joel said quickly, and Kevin nodded as he realised why as well.

"What's going on?" Adam asked curiously.

Joel smiled in his general direction, "You'll find out, Addzy."

"Damnit! Joel! My image!" Adam whined plaintively, again playing it up for all it was worth as his brother burst out laughing at him.

"You'll live," Joel smiled again as he, Levi, Kevin, his cat guards, Austin, Nine and their two boys vanished back to Orlando.

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To Be Continued...

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Editor's Notes:

I am impressed. First of all, Austin has a boyfriend. That is cool. Joel seems to be improving, that is, of course, cool, also.

All the weapon freaks have a new friend, well, now, two friends with tremendous fire power.

A certain sperm donor is going to get what he deserves. I want to be there when that happens.

I can hardly wait for the next chapter.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher