Captain's log, stardate 47989.2. Starfleet has dispatched Enterprise to the Arinel System, on the edge of Federation space, to investigate reports of possible Borg activity. Needless to say, it is with trepidation and resolve that we travel towards what may very well be our fourth encounter with this implacable foe.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the U.S.S. Enterprise-D paused his log entry and sat back in his chair. Was it really trepidation he felt, at the prospect of once again going toe-to-toe with the Borg? No, perhaps that was not quite the correct word. Resolve was certainly accurate. Anticipation, maybe. Lingering doubts forced Jean-Luc to admit that there was a word for what he felt.
Anger.
He first recognized these sensations upon meeting Hugh. His proposal to destroy the Collective was motivated by logic; preservation of the Federation, he told himself, not wanting to believe that he could be motivated by such a base instinct as revenge. What changed his mind, in the end, was seeing Hugh as a victim of the Borg, much like himself. That was all the Borg did: create victims. They had no culture, no art, no history; just an endless trail of destroyed worlds and enslaved minds. There were times...
There were times he wondered if they had made the right choice in not destroying the Borg when they were given a chance.
He picked up his flute, hoping to soothe his savage breast with music, but when he held the instrument to his lips nothing came. He placed it reverentially back in its holder and stood up, straightening his uniform shirt. After pausing much longer than was necessary, he stepped towards the door that led to his bridge.
In the same split second that the doors parted, he heard Data call out, "Captain on the bridge!" He nodded in acknowledgement and made eye contact with Number One as he passed through. That was the exact moment his ready room exploded.
This story continues in CROSSOVER! On Infinite Worlds