by Ben Church

Int. Station: Promenade upper level
JAKE SISKO is working on a story. So engrossed is he that he bumps into ODO.

JAKE: (Embarrassed) Sorry, Odo, I didn't see you there.

ODO: Hunh.

JAKE wanders off, once more engrossed in his work.

Pan to:
NORA ZIAL gets off a turbo-lift and looks around, bewildered. She starts off to her left. She is still not used to the station and appears lost. She does not get far. JAKE collides with her as she turns a corner.

JAKE: (apologetically) Oh, I'm sorry.

NORA: No, it was my fault. I'm still not used to the station.

JAKE: Aren't you Gul Dukat's daughter?

NORA: Yes, I am. Nora Zial. And you're Captain Sisko's son, aren't you? Jake, right?

JAKE: Yeah. Well, pleased to meet you.

CUT TO:
Int. Ops.: O'BRIEN, KIRA, WORF and DAX are at their stations. SISKO exits the turbolift.

DAX: Good morning, Benjamin.

SISKO: Good morning, Old Man.

DAX: Benjamin, I'm picking up increased nutrino levels. Something's coming through the wormhole.

SISKO: (smiling) I know what increased nutrino levels means by now, Old Man. On screen. (The smile fades from his face when he looks at the viewscreen).

CUT TO:
Int. Ops.:

O'BRIEN: Bloody hell. It's too early in the morning for this.

SISKO: Raise shields!

BORG transporter effect. Severely injured HUGH beams onto bridge. Then he falls to his knees.

ON VIEWSCREEN: BORG ship explodes.

HUGH: (painfully) Help me.

ROLL OPENING

Ext. Station:

SISKO voice-over: Station log, stardate 4106.3:
Though there has been no further wormhole activity since the arrival of the Borg child, I am keeping the station at yellow alert.

Cut to:
Int. Infirmary: O'BRIEN watches as BASHIR examines a comotose HUGH, who lies on a bed. Two SECURITY GUARDS are also present.

Continue voice-over: I've had Hugh transferred to the Infirmary under guard. According to Starfleet records, Hugh once saved the life of Captain Picard. But that does not inspire much confidence in me.

BASHIR: (annoyed) Chief, are these guards really necessary?

O'BRIEN: To be honest Julian, I don't think so. But it's Captain Sisko's orders.

BASHIR: I suppose I can understand his caution. It can't be easy being faced with a representative of the race that killed his wife.

O'BRIEN: And is still a threat to the Federation, Julian. Let's not forget about that. (Under his breath) Bastards.

SISKO enters, takes in the scene.

SISKO: (to BASHIR) How is he?

BASHIR: He'll live. The damage was surprisingly minimal. With the Chief's help here, I've repaired the damage to both his organic tissue and his cybernetic implants.

SISKO: Is it safe to wake him?

BASHIR: I don't see why not. He should be fine.

SISKO: Do it. We need to find out what happened. (He nods to the guards, who draw their phasers.)

BASHIR presses a hypo to HUGH'S arm, with a HISS. HUGH jerks awake, emitting a short scream of terror before taking in his surroundings.

HUGH: (Looking around) You are Starfleet. (He looks at O'Brien) You are O'Brien. You are of the Enterprise. (relieved) I made it.

SISKO: Not quite, I'm afraid. You are on the Bajoran space station, Deep Space Nine.

HUGH: (resigned) It does not matter. You are still Starfleet, and for now I am safe.

SISKO: What happened to you? I've never heard of Borg traveling alone, even after your encounters with the Enterprise crew.

HUGH looks at the security guards, who still have phasers trained on him.)

HUGH: You do not trust me.

SISKO: (ignoring HUGH's comment.) I'll repeat the question. What happened?

HUGH studies SISKO for a moment, then speaks.

HUGH: The Federation is in danger. I am the last survivor of my people, the Indiviual Borg. The Queen has taken a personal interest in your people. First, her ship attacked and decimated our colony, and now she heads for sector 001.

BASHIR, SISKO and O'BRIEN: The Borg Queen?

CUT TO:
(The Defiant being readied for departure.)

SISKO: (V.O.) Station Log; Supplemental.
Long range sensors from several Starbases confirm Hugh's claim that the Borg are once again headed for Earth. In preparation, Starfleet has called most of the fleet back to Earth to stop them, including the Defiant, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Worf.

KIRA: (Walking up to O'BRIEN, who is checking things off on a list.) How is she, Chief?

O'BRIEN: Ready as she'll ever be, Major. The engines are purring like a kitten-

KIRA: What?

O'BRIEN: Oh, sorry, old Earth slang. It means the engines are working fine. Anyway, the phasers are set to randomly rotating frequencies thanks to Dax and Worf, and so are the shields.

KIRA: (quietly) I hope it'll be enough.

O'BRIEN: So do I, Major. So do I.

(CUT TO:
SISKO'S office. WORF, DAX and HUGH stand before SISKO, who is seated at his desk.)

SISKO: Is everything ready?

WORF: Yes, sir. Chief O'Brien informs me that the Defiant will be ready to leave within the hour.

SISKO: Good. (Broods for a moment, then looks at WORF.) Good luck to you, Mr. Worf. You'd better do better than the last armada that tried to stop the Borg.

WORF: Yes, sir. We will stop the Borg or die.

SISKO: (smiles grimly) It's that last part that worries me, Mr. Worf.

Cut to:

O'BRIEN: (putting on the new uniform jacket.) It's not fair. I just got used to the old uniform.

KEIKO: Oh, quit complaining, Miles. I like this one.

O'BRIEN smiles.

O'BRIEN: You picked quite a time to come back.

MOLLY: (entering) Mommy, Daddy, he did it again!

O'BRIEN: I changed him last time.

KEIKO: You weren't there last time.

O'BRIEN: (sigh) You'd think in the twenty-fourth century, we'd have done away with dirty diapers.

Int. Sisko's Office. WORF is gone, but DAX and HUGH are still there. SISKO is obviously still uncomfortable with HUGH.

SISKO: How are the preparations coming, Old Man?

DAX: We're almost done, Benjamin. Rom is turning out to be a big help. He's more familiar with the Cardassian's systems.

SISKO: (to HUGH) Are you certain the Borg will come looking for you?

HUGH: I am not certain of anything these days, Captain Sisko. But they attempted to wipe out the Individual Borg. As I am the last of them, it is reasonable to assume they will come after me. It would be safer for all concerned if I left the station.

SISKO: Absolutely not.

HUGH: I do not understand. The Borg were responsible for the death of your wife. I present a danger to your station simply by my presence, and yet you protect me.

SISKO: You've apparently got a lot to learn about being human, Hugh. Whether I like you, or trust you or not, you're still a human being in danger. And besides, I'm not letting you out of my sight for a second.

HUGH: I see.

DAX looks from SISKO'S steely gaze to HUGH'S unwavering one.

DAX: Benjamin, could I talk to you for a moment? Alone?

HUGH: I may assist Rom in the preparations.

DAX: Good idea.

HUGH exits.

SISKO: I don't want to hear it, Old Man.

DAX: Well, too bad, 'cause you're going to. I understand that Hugh's presence here is an uncomfortable reminder of Jennifer's death, but Hugh isn't responsible for that.

SISKO: It's not that easy.

DAX: (Sympathetically) No, it never is.

CUT TO:
INT. JEFFERIES TUBE. ROM and JAKE are working on something.

ROM: Hand me the spanner.

JAKE: (handing it to him) Are you scared?

ROM: What?

JAKE: Are you scared. Of the Borg coming.

ROM: (looks up from his work) Of course I am. You'd have to be insane not to be. Which is why I'm working so hard on our new defenses. (He pauses in his work) How about you?

JAKE: The Borg killed my mother.

ROM: (he did not know - god knows why he didn't) Oh, I'm sorry. You really must be scared. Maybe you should evacuate with the rest.

JAKE: (taking a deep breath) No. I can't keep running. Besides, if we win, think of what a great story it'll make.

HUGH: (O.S.) Geordi would call you an "optimist".

JAKE: (freezing) Hugh.

HUGH crawls onto screen.

HUGH: Jake Sisko. (There is remorse on his face) Your mother was killed at Wolf 359. I am sorry.

JAKE: (taking a while to answer) It wasn't your fault. You weren't there. And even if you were, you weren't responsible for your behavior when you were a Borg.

HUGH: Strange. You have forgiven me for being what I am, yet your father still resents it. Why is this?

ROM: Children's minds are more accepting than those of adults.

JAKE: You don't get half the credit you deserve, Rom.

HUGH: (regarding Jake's laughter and Rom's smile) Is this what is known as an 'inside joke'?

They laugh harder.

Cut To:
EXT. Space: The wormhole opens. A Borg cube comes through.

INT. Ops.

SISKO: Sisko to Rom. We've run out of time. I hope those modifications are complete.

ROM: (on comm) We're done, Captain. We just finished.

O'BRIEN: Not a moment too soon. They're hailing us.

DAX: Do we really need to know what they have to say?

SISKO: I doubt it, Old Man. I'm pretty sure at least three of us, me included, could repeat their speech verbatim.

BORG: (on comm) We are the Borg. We will add your technological and biological distinctiveness to our own. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.

Odo: (while they're talking) Looks like we don't have a choice about listening to them or not.

O'BRIEN: They're forcing their signal through somehow, sir.

SISKO: The Borg always were... insistent.

Cut To:
Int. Quarks. The Borg message broadcasts all over the station.

QUARK: I knew I should have evacuated with the others.

Cut to:
Int. Ops. Sisko isn't listening to the Borg.

SISKO: Mr. O'Brien, raise shields and open fire with our new phasers. We'll show them how "futile" our resistance is.

Cut to:
Ext. Station. The Borg Cube is damaged by the phasers, which begin to change color. The pounding continues.

Cut to:
Int. Ops.

SISKO: Are they adapting?

O'BRIEN: They're certainly trying, sir, but so far our phaser modulations are giving them a hard time.

SISKO: Good, keep it up, Chief. Fire torpedos.

Cut to:
Ext. Space.

The Borg Cube sustains more damage, but the tractor beam turns on.

Cut To:
Int. Ops.

DAX: They're attempting to lock on with their tractor beam. Modulating shield frequencies.

The station shakes.

KIRA: They've got us!

O'BRIAN: Already? Damn shields.

DAX: Benjamin, I'm reading several intruders.

HUGH (on comm): Sisko, there may be a way to stop them.

SISKO: Then let's hear it!

Cut To:
Int. Cube. Three quantum torpedoes appear in the CENTRAL CHAMBER.

Cut to:
Ext. Space: The tractor beam cuts off as chain reactions rock the cube. Finally it explodes.

Int. Ops:

O'BRIEN: We're not out of the woods yet captain. Several Borg beamed aboard just before the cube exploded.

SISKO: Where are they?"

O'BRIEN: The Promenade.

SISKO: Put all security teams on alert. All hands, this is Captain Sisko. Intruder alert. Repeat, intruder alert.

Cut to: Int. Promenade.
A passing security guard is assimilated, and fire is exchanged.

Cut To: Int. Ops.
HUGH arrives and hurries to SISKO.

HUGH: You cannot defeat them with phasers, Captain. The Borg will adapt.

SISKO: I'm well aware that the Borg adapt, Hugh. What else to we have but phasers?

HUGH, in answer, goes to the bridge replicator and scans it. He then taps some buttons and a futuristic looking rifle appears.

DAX: Projectile weapons?

HUGH: Armor piercing rounds. The Borg will still adapt quickly, but we... they... are unaccustomed to non-energy type weapons.

KIRA: Why is that? Don't you (HUGH winces) sorry, they encounter species primitive enough?

HUGH: Yes, but the Borg do not confront them face to face. They just assimilate those civilizations from orbit.

DAX: (smiles at him, then looks at SISKO) Looks like it's a good thing he's on OUR side.

SISKO: (ignoring her) Sisko to Security, equip two out of each team with automatic projectile weapons.

Cut To: Montage of scenes of battle, the two sides appearing mostly equal at first, but finally the Borg begin to gain ground.

A Borg attempts to assimilate Odo, but he morphs away, then snaps the Borg's neck.

Cut to: Ops.

HUGH listens with the others to the increasingly bad progress reports. HUGH heads for the transporter.

SISKO: Hugh! Where do you think you're going?

HUGH: The Borg will prevail unless I stop them.

He beams himself to the Promenade where the Borg are nearly unchallenged. He blasts three Borg with his own Borg gun attached to his arm before they adapt.

While the security officers rally, he takes on two Borg hand to hand.

More security arrives, and HUGH is caught in the crossfire. His body jerks as it is hit by bullets and Borg disrupters.

Staggering, he grabs one of the Borg drones and pricks it with the electrode on his bionic arm. Sparks fly from the drone, and then, one by one, from the others.

Cut To:
Int. Promanade. Security is cleaning up. SISKO and O'BRIEN are overseeing the work.

SISKO: What happened to them, Chief? (He indicates the prone bodies of all the drones.)

O'BRIEN: Near as I can tell, sir, Hugh sent some sort of electrical impulse through their network that shorted them all out. He saved the station.

SISKO stands for a moment, dealing with the fact that a Borg had saved them all. He turns to leave.

CUT TO:
Int. Infirmary

HUGH lies on a biobed, most of the borg implants removed.

SISKO: How is he Doctor?

BASHIR: He'll live. His implants took the brunt of the damage, so I removed most of them. Given time, he should make a complete recovery. But I imagine being more man than machine may be of some shock to him.

Close up of HUGH as his skin turns from deathly pale to a more healthy color.

CUT TO:
Int. Quarks. JAKE, NORA ZIAL, HUGH, and MORN sit at the bar. HUGH is trying something from a mug.

ZIAL: I never could stand the stuff myself.

JAKE: Well, Hugh, how do you like it?

HUGH: I do not know. I am unfamiliar with the concept of taste. Perhaps if I had something to compare this... Root Beer to.

SISKO enters and heads for the bar.

SISKO: Hugh, I need to talk to you.

HUGH: Of course, Captain Sisko. (He rises, and follows SISKO)

SISKO leads him to the back of the bar.

SISKO: This isn't easy for me to say. Thank you. And I'm sorry. I let my personal prejudices affect my treatment of you, and you didn't deserve that.

HUGH: It is understandable, Captain Sisko. But your apology is accepted, as is your thanks.

SISKO: Have you given any thought as to what you'll do now?

HUGH: I have. Geordi has extended an invitation for me to visit him. I think I will take advantage of it. I was most pleased to hear that the Borg were defeated on Earth.

SISKO: What will happen to the Borg now that their queen is dead?

HUGH: There will be another Queen. You have not seen the last of the Collective, Captain.

SISKO sighs.