The conference to discuss the T’l is interrupted by a new emergency. A Borg probe pierces through the gravitational eddies of the Hollow, and is beginning a search pattern. Adams and Hobbs join the ves’Targ to dispatch it, bringing along some syrillium previously used to power the Odyssey. Once close (and using the raider’s stealth circuitry), Adams and Hobbs beam aboard the probe to locate a place for their makeshift bomb. Adams struggles with memories of his time as Borg, and Hobbs is startled by a working drone and drops his phaser – but despite this, they’re able to place the syrillium explosive and beam back to the ves’Targ. As the probe explodes, Adams collapses. Plogh checks him out on the raider, confirms he is stable, and they return hastily to the Odyssey.

There, while the EMH examines Adams’ cybernetics under Plogh’s watchful eye, Adams hazily remembers. He has memories of his vacation – the frontier colony that was assimilated by the Borg. And after some time, he realizes the memories he’s seeing are his wife’s. Still assimilated by the Borg, he tries hard to learn her coordinates from the memories he sees from here before awakening and learning strange news. A Borg distress beacon activated dormant programming in Adams’ ocular implant. Somehow, he has limited, read-only access to the Collective’s will. It doesn’t seem to be dangerous, so for now, it is a unique advantage.

The crew finally convenes to discuss the news that the T’l are responsible for countless deaths in the effort to create their Hollow. Opinions vary, but the ultimate result is that the T’l’s actions are past, and they can only be judged on future acts. For now, circumstances have made strange bedfellows and their shared peril is more important than judgement now. The preparations are completed, and after a few days of waiting, the T’l gather and fly into their new home in the Odyssey’s Cargo Bay 2. Privately, PB offers the crew their assistance in temporarily increasing the fleet’s speed in a pinch.

Prepared now for the trip out of the Hollow and deeper into Borg space, the fleet organizes to slip past the Borg transit hub near the far end of the Hollow. The fleet passes through mostly without issue, but the Odyssey’s much stronger warp signature draws two Borg spheres from the transit hub. Drawing on Adams’ earlier plan with the probe, the Commodore and Ensign Barnett fake a power failure to slow and let the Borg catch up. Meanwhile Adams works with Chief Hegrom to use the cargo transporters to beam the remainder of the syrillium ore (along with an overloading phaser or two) split between the two spheres. The monumental task is competently handled by the Tellarite chief and the spheres explode mightily.

The Odyssey splits off to draw off potential pursuit, and after a long warp the ship turns toward the rendezvous with the fleet. On the way, Adams talks to the Commodore about his vision when unconscious, along with the coordinates he learned from them. Tchang confirms the station that his wife is at is only a few months away on their journey. It’s not a significant detour, so with time to plan, Adams starts poring over all the data he can find about the road ahead.

Alone for the moment, the Odyssey moves past the most recent Borg threat. They’re safe for now, but that won’t last long.