Locutus and Locutus

Posted on Sat Oct 17th, 2026 @ 1:58pm by Captain Rovak & Captain Sotek & Doctor Toh
Edited on on Sat Oct 17th, 2026 @ 3:00pm

1,418 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Shifting Shapes [4-5]
Location: Stargate Embarkation Bay - Delta Dock, DS13
Timeline: Evening - A week after 'Vulcan Family Values'

The Stargate erupted open to reveal a single traveller, a human* (synthetic Golem designed to replicate one as closely as possible), a retired Admiral in Starfleet and the recently unretired Chancellor of Starfleet Academy. Former Captain of two Enterprises. Bald. You know the one.

“Chancellor, thank you for coming all this way.” Rovak said from the bottom of the elevated steps.

“Captain. Your thanks are not necessary. Any remedy I can offer for the actions I took as Locutus of Borg is something I will make time for. And this Stargate device you’ve found certainly simplifies things. I’ll still be home in time for supper.” The human greeted his comrade with a smile.

“Indeed.” Rovak agreed, and they began to walk.

“But of course, there’s seldom few chances for the Academy class of 2327 to get together, for those of us who survive, anyway.” The Starfleet legend added in his rich voice.

“As you say, Chancellor. There has not been a reunion since ’70. I believe we both last attended in ‘47.” Rovak agreed.

“And one mustn’t forget that if not for your quick work at tactical that day, I might not have had the manoeuvre named after me at the battle of Maxia.”

“I was only doing my duty, sir.” Rovak said as they entered the turbolift.

“Quite so. Tell me, I’m familiar with your father’s condition, but what of the other Captains?” The Chancellor asked.

“They are recovering well. Our medical team believes they should be fit to return home by the end of the month.” Rovak explained.

“Good, good. But your father remains convinced that he is Borg?”

“It seems less that he is convinced, sir, more that he decided.”

“Hm. Strange. I was not Locutus of Borg for long, but once the Borg devices were removed, my former self quickly reasserted itself. With the careful care of Starfleet medical’s finest, of course.”

“He was assimilated for decades, sir. It seems to have taken its toll.”

“Indeed. I also did some reading up on logs from Voyager when they first recovered Seven of Nine. It seemed she too yearned for the collective, though she was assimilated as a child. Your father was a man of more than a century.”

“Yes, our Doctors have drawn on similar sources.”

“He was a fine Captain. And the Ganymede a fine ship.” He went quiet for a moment.

“I apologise if this subject matter evokes past traumas, sir.”

“The Borg must never again be allowed to find a foothold anywhere in this Galaxy, Captain. I will make it the mission of the rest of my days if I must. Fortunately this has been the most significant presence we’ve seen in six months.”

Rovak nodded. He felt like he had little to say next to a man of such calibre. Even if he could see in his face that same effective but arrogant womaniser that he’d gone through four years of the academy and further years of service with. When he’d told Alex Flynn the stories of the Chancellor as a younger man, her responses had included the terms ‘pantsman’ and ‘fuckboy’ thrown around interchangeably.

Doctor Toh greeted them formally and brought them to the viewpoint of Sotek’s room. He was still sitting on the edge of his bed, staring straight ahead, possibly at the large shifting holographic view. It was essentially all he'd done when nobody was interacting with him.

“Our tests indicate that there is no specific Borg influence being asserted on him, but he does have active control of the few remaining implants, mostly part of the tactical suite. Scanners only, nothing dangerous. His assimilation hardware has been removed. The nanites in his bloodstream have been neutralised for any purposes more active than healing.” Toh told them.

“Good. I’d like to speak to him.” The Chancellor said.

The door opened with a swish, soon he was in position at the end of the bed. “Captain Sotek, I believe.”

“I am Locutus of Borg.” He responded.

“Interesting. I’ve been known to say the same thing in my time.”

“You abandoned your post. Chose individuality.”

“It’s true. I did not desire to become or remain Locutus. Not as you do. Was your life before so unfulfilling?”

“The life of one man cannot compare to the overmind of the collective. To serve that collective is indescribable. You did not have such an opportunity, confined to a single cube and sent to assimilate a single star system. Unsuccessfully.”

“I could have been a better Locutus, it’s true. But nobody is served by the Borg’s existence, except the Borg. They are a cancer of this galaxy. You threaten trillions of lives with your loyalty to a foreign power. Your declarations are the definition of treason.”

“The Collective is eternal. Treason is irrelevant.”

“It won’t be irrelevant if you’re locked in a Borg security cell for an indefinite period. We harbor no prejudice against those who recover from assimilation, but those who choose it are a threat to the Federation itself. To all free life.”

“It is the highest cause possible. Universal equality. Universal agency. Universal assimilation. Can you not picture it? Is it not the Federation’s highest goals writ large?”

“The Federation chooses freedom, never the tyrants heel. Whether that Tyrant is a stellar warlord or a merciless collective. The Federation would fight to the last against such a foe.”

“Freedom is relative. Mortality is optional. The Collective is eternal.”

“I’m very sorry to have to be the one to tell you this Captain, but if you aren’t able to see the error of your ways, you’re to be confined to a facility set aside for threats to galactic security.” The Chancellor told him sternly.

“Your guarantees forbid this. I am entitled to freedom of thought and expression. I believe in the Collective.”

“And if you believed in the Third Reich, the Noonien-Singh Khanate or the old ways of the Dominion, your expressed beliefs would be an explicit rejection of non-aggression principles. As you are not just a believer, but a confirmed agent of a hostile power, your freedom is not an option at this stage.”

“Freedom is relative. But you will be challenged through legal avenues.”

“That is of course, your right. A right you would not have in the collective.”

Sotek was silent.

“It’ll be my recommendation that you be left here on Deep Space 13 for pre-carcerial testing and analysis. After that period is concluded, you will be transported to one of the Federation’s harder-to-reach facilities. I hope that you can see the sense required to avoid this.” The Chancellor said with an exasperated sigh.

“Farewell, Captain.” The Chancellor finally said.

“Farewell, Jean-Luc.” Sotek responded.

“I hate to do this. But the best place for him is here, I think. At least you will have a chance to try and get through to him.” The Chancellor said when they were back in Toh’s office.

“I understand, sir. It would not be my preference either.” Rovak told the Chancellor.

“There may not be much more we can do to change his mind, but we can at least determine what considerations the facility that ends up in any long-term possession of him will have to make.” Dr Toh concluded.

“Understood, Doctor. Thank you.” Rovak said.

Rovak walked the Chancellor back to the Stargate, and he seemed to quite enjoy watching it be dialled.

“We must ensure our next class reunion is closer together than the previous one.” The Chancellor said with a smile, patting the Vulcan on the shoulder as they reached the stairway down into the Stargate bay.

“As you say, sir.”

“And also, if you could tell that son of yours, we still haven’t been able to fix what he did to the holographic Boothby.” The Chancellor said with a sudden dire seriousness.

“I apologise, sir. I will speak to him.”

The Chancellor laughed. “A joke, Captain. Besides, I know where to find Lieutenant Shurlok should I need to. And while Boothby never did the macarena while he was alive to my knowledge, one can't say it's not amusing.”

“Indeed. Until next time, sir. Live long and prosper.” Rovak said, offering the salute to the Ambassador, who returned it as he departed into the bay. The stargate’s event horizon swallowed him as he stepped through it, and he was gone, rematerializing on Mars a moment later.

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