PART 1

Voyager sent out a long-range probe two months earlier. It stops transmitting when it runs into the Borg, and its last relayed pictures are of a Borg drone examining it. Accordingly, the Voyager crew realise they are about to enter Borg space. They attempt to plot a course through a corridor that seems devoid of Borg activity, which they call "the Northwest Passage", maneuvering through intense gravimetric distortions which fill it (they later learn the distortions are due to activity by Species 8472). The crew prepare the ship for possible encounters with the Borg.

Preparations for entering Borg space include: placing the ship on full tactical alert; Tuvok reprograms the phaser banks to a rotating modulation, but suspects the Borg will adapt quickly; Kim configures the long-range sensors to scan for transwarp signatures as an early warning system. Chakotay also asks Kim to find a way to cut down the time it takes to seal off the decks and increase the magnitude of the forcefields.

PART 2

In alliance with the Borg, Voyager travels through Borg space while working with the Borg to develop weapons capable of delivering the Doctor's modified Borg nanoprobes.

Chakotay intends to leave the Borg drones on a Class-H moon with an oxygen-argon atmosphere, which indicates that one is within sensor range.

Cargo bay 2 (formerly the airponics bay) is assimilated by the Borg drones that escape the destruction of their Borg cube to Voyager. See below under EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES.

The escaped Borg drones open a singularity into the realm of Species 8472. Chakotay decompresses Cargo Bay 2, ejecting all of the Borg from the ship except for one drone whose (part-)designation is Seven of Nine. Voyager is taken through the singularity into the realm of Species 8472 - the ship finds that the realm is in an interdimensional rift and the entire region is filled with organic fluid, meaning that it is matter rather than space; the term used is 'fluidic space'. Voyager's entry into fluidic space creates a compression wave alerting Species 8472 to their arrival. There Voyager does battle with a number of Species 8472 bioships, using newly-modified photon torpedoes (see EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES). Having proved that Voyager's weapons outclass them, Seven opens another singularity and Voyager returns to ordinary space.

PART 1

As part of the preparations for entering Borg space, Neelix is working on a plan to extend their food and replicator rations so that the ship does not have to stop while in Borg space.

PART 2

Voyager's weapons inventory includes a photon torpedo complement of 32 class-6 warheads with an explosive yield of 200 isotons. As the result of Voyager's alliance with the Borg, thirteen of Voyager's photon torpedoes are fitted with the nanoprobes modified by the Doctor and four are launched. One high-yield warhead is launched from the aft torpedo bay, and that warhead destroys 13 Species 8472 bio-ships.

Cargo Bay 2 is assimilated by the Borg drones that escape the destruction of their Borg cube by transporting to Voyager. The Borg draw power from the secondary power couplings and access Voyager's deflector control. They re-align the emitters to send out a resonant graviton beam and create a singularity through which they take Voyager into the realm of Species 8472.

Through connection to a Borg alcove in cargo bay 2, Chakotay uses the Borg neurotransceiver he was fitted with in [#59 Unity] to access Seven of Nine's mind.

Following the end of the alliance with the Borg, it will take at least two weeks to remove the Borg technology from ship systems. Since the power couplings on Deck 8 work better with the Borg improvements Janeway decides to leave them.

PART 1

Subspace turbulence prevents Voyager from creating a stable warp field.

PART 2

Species 8472 scores a direct hit to the secondary hull. Transporters are offline and shields and weapons are down.

PART 1

While researching the Borg, Janeway reads from the logs of Jean-Luc Picard, captain of the Enterprise-D and Captain Amasov of the Endeavor. In the words of Picard: "In their collective state, the Borg are utterly without mercy ... driven by one will alone: the will to conquer. They are beyond redemption ... beyond reason." Captain Amasov says: "It is my opinion that the Borg are as close to pure evil as any race we've ever encountered." Those encounters relate to events depicted in [TNG], especially [TNG: The Best Of Both Worlds], and [Star Trek VIII: First Contact]. This [Voyager] story [Scorpion] was the first full Borg story (i.e. excluding [Unity]) to air following the film [Star Trek VIII: First Contact] and indicates that the death of the Borg Queen (in the film) did not affect the Borg Collective. Indeed the same Queen is seen in [#171 and #172 Endgame]. The Borg Queen is not seen in [Voyager] until the Season 5 story [Dark Frontier].