Luthien Vausse sat at her desk reading the brief for her next mission. The USS Guardian was due to reach Rikel IV in about an hour.
Her office was well lit, adorned with artwork from many cultures hung on the wall, and keepsakes on various ledgers and nooks. Some of those were tokens of appreciation from the people she helped. Others were mementos. They were a reminder of the places she had been to, of people she had met, some of them quite picturesque. They were a triumph, a sign of rebirth in the aftermath of Borg assimilation. She was particularly fond of a small dreamcatcher which hung from above her replicator, it was handcrafted by an artisan of a civilisation resembling American-Indians.
The Guardian's mission was one of rescue and rehabilitation for planets and populations that had been affected by the Borg, one way or the other.
It was interesting to see how different cultures adapted to a post-assimilation society. Some decided to rid themselves of dangerous technology but retained space-capability ready to flee in the event of another Borg incursion. Others developed a quasi-collective approach. While some cultures put their newfound technological discoveries to good use.
Having been assimilated herself years before, her role as Counselor and her keen Betazoid senses put her in a unique position to be able to help other ex-Borg or distressed individuals who had lost everything to the half-machine race. She made a habit of knowing the history of each planet her ship visited to make sure she had a solid background understanding of the population and their culture. Rikel IV was no different in this regard. Understanding what had been helped her put things into perspective. The Borg had assimilated most of the population of the planet years before, back when Janeway's Voyager was lost in the Delta Quadrant.
As the Unimatrix Zero resistance grew and worked to find more ways to free more vessels, some of the freed Borg sought to rebuild their lives. Many of them tried to return to their homeworlds, as it was the case with the inhabitants of Rikel IV.
Not all population was assimilated however. The Rikelians were a warp-capable culture and they had managed to detect the Borg as they approached. Unfortunately, due to the nature of transwarp, the alert came too late and only a small number of the inhabitants managed to evacuate aboard their ships. They adopted a nomadic lifestyle for several years until they finally returned to their home planet. A few years later, the freed Borg that belonged to the same system also joined them.
Strained for resources and divided by diffidence, things were not exactly sailing for the now greatly diminished population of Rikel IV. Pirates and the Orion Syndicate often took advantage of the situation until their government finally asked the Federation for help.
The USS Guardian was to provide all the assistance they needed, try to establish a safe haven for Rikelians, and provide any humanitarian support the inhabitants needed. It was also the Guardian's duty to advise Starfleet on plans to help the population and kick-start a new era of growth.