This is my entry into the 5th Birthday Celebration Contest:
"Captain's log, stardate 486675.4. The battle against the Borg is not going well. Despite Captain Picard's destruction of the Borg Queen, they have stepped up their assaults. Turns out that the Queen is not one single entity, but rather a control program downloaded into another host shell as needed. Evidence points out that there have even been Borg Kings as well. The Queen 2.0 (as we are calling "her") has initiated a drone upgrade program. Several new types of drones have been recorded. The low-res images that accompany this log entry have the only known pictures of the new types. Sadly, my First Officer, Commander Daniel Fett was lost in the reconnasaince raid that garnered these images. There are several still pictures that show his capture and subsequent assimilation."
"The first type are officially known as "Heavy Assault Units", although my Security Chief Lt. Commander Hicks has taken to calling them "Tanks". They are more heavily armed and armored than typical drones. The "Tanks" are granted more autonomy than the regular drones, and will attack in force. Their shielding prevents all damage, although they are susceptable to ballistic weaponry, high-temperature plasma burners and sonic blasters. The unit pictured here appears to have been a Duros. It is equipped with micro-proton launchers on both arms, dual-port phaser/disruptor combos and high-tensile shearing claws on both arms. This particular unit also shows a recent upgrade...a shoulder mounted plasma caster, most likely assimilated from the Yuatja Predators. The only good news is that they are still fairly rare, seemingly from the Queen's reluctance to lighten up on her mental grip."
"The next batch of images focus on the second new drone type. Officially labeled "Assimilator Units", they have been dubbed "Runners". Lithe and agile, they are the least armed or armored of all the drone types. Their sole purpose is to overrun the opposition and implant the nanovirus that begins the assimilation process. They move like nothing we have ever encountered from the Borg before. They sprint down corridors, jumping over obstacles like old Earth freerunners. They are more common than the "Tank" units. The two units pictured were a Dressellian and a Kel Dor. They lack weaponized arms common to most Borg types, and are only equipped with the injection tubules that sprout from their knuckles. These tubules inject the nanovirus that ultimately leads to full assimilation."
"Sadly, this last set of images are of the loss of my trusted First Officer, Commander Daniel Fett. He led the Away Team that infiltrated the Borg Cube that these new drone types were stationed on."
"The nanovirus in action, visualized by the biotechnical tracks on is face and the immediate loss of color and blood flow."
"As a last minute adition, here are the images of the Borg Queen 2.0 that were able to be salvaged from the Away Team's tricorder."
"As you can see, the Federation is facing it's greatest threat since it's creation. The Borg have adapted in ways we never expected and we must evolve as well, or our very way of life will be extinguisehed. Captain Mulvo Skirata, USS Mandalore out".
BONUS! Here are shots of the Hive so far, one with the Steampunk Unit, one without.
