Hey, guess what! I don't own Star Trek!
Orion belongs to me and my RL friend
We were both awakened by the comm ringing, since we hadn't replaced our combadges yet.
"I'll get it." I said, carefully pulling my arm out from under Hugh. He groaned in his sleep in response. I smiled at him and walked over to the comm and answered it.
"Picard here."
"Sir, it's the child...He's awake." Dr. Crusher said.
"May we see him?" Hugh asked. I jumped in surprise. When had he gotten up?
"I was actually going to ask you to, especially you, Hugh, since you're our resident Borg expert."
"As Terrans say, 'it takes one to know one' correct?" Hugh answered. Crusher laughed.
"Jean-Luc, don't let Riker rub off on him any more."
"We'll be right down." I said. We didn't bother with putting on uniforms, since we were off duty still. I just threw on a plain shirt, pants, and shoes. Hugh, of course, wore only his Borg implants. Maybe he did it on purpose, so he'd seem familiar to the child, who would simply see an adult drone, and not know if he was in the Collective or not. Would the Collective even matter to a small child? I was about to find out, as the doors to Sickbay opened. Crusher was watching one of the isolation rooms. Inside was the Borg child, toddling around exploring his new surroundings. Crusher had put some of Wesley's old childhood toys in the room, in case this child wanted them.
The child himself was fascinating. He couldn't have been more than two or three, if he was even that old, yet he had full implants, just like Hugh. In fact, he LOOKED just like Hugh, even having the exact same eyepiece. It was like someone had shrunk or de-aged Hugh back into a three-year-old. There was a small power converter to allow him to regenerate. The only unnerving thing was his stony face. But that was to be expected considering where this child had come from.
"He seems healthy." I said.
"That's what I thought," Crusher said, "but I want to be sure. My knowledge is based on an adult Borg, not an infant. That's why I wanted Hugh. He knows what a Borg child should be like since he was in the Collective."
"I would have to get closer to him." Hugh said, "Standing here, I can see no more than you can."
"I'll let you in." Crusher said, "Captain, you stay out for now. He may react better to seeing only an adult Borg rather than adding a human, too." I nodded, understanding the logic and watched as Hugh was let into the room.
Hugh's POV
Crusher slowly opened the door and let me into the isolation room. The child saw me approach and immediately stood up straight.
"We are Second of Three." he said in a soft monotone. I smiled at him.
"I am Third of Five. But you can call me Hugh."
"Third of Five. 'Hugh' is not a Collective designation." he said matter-of-factly.
"I know." I answered, "I am not part of the Collective anymore, and neither are you."
"We are Borg." he said.
"So am I. But not in the Collective. I no longer hear the voices of the others at night."
"You are Third of Five, Traitor to the Collective, Leader of the Resistance." I nodded. "We are becoming like you. Already the voices are silent." I immediately noticed the slight change in his voice. The change was happening quickly at his young age. He was already feeling the fear of a small child.
"We cannot live...without...the Collective." he whispered. I dropped to one knee and took his small organic hand in both of my hands.
"Yes you can." I said, "I will help you. Everyone here will help you. I promise." His lip quivered as he looked at me.
"We...are...alone." I shook my head and gently pulled him close to me.
"No you're not." I said as I hugged him, "You are never alone here."
I swear I felt his tiny arms trying to hug me beck.
Picard's POV
I stood watching and listening as Hugh spoke to the child, who seemed like a robot at first, but then slowly started to take on a scared look as he hugged Hugh, almost clinging to him when Hugh stood up to leave.
"Well?" Crusher asked as she let him out.
"He is healthy." Hugh said, "As expected, he still wants the Collective, but I think his adjustment will be much quicker than mine was."
"He'll need a name." I said, "We can't call him Two of Three." We all looked back to see that the little Borg had found a crayon and had drawn an entire starmap on the wall.
"'Ryin." he said as he drew a constellation, which turned out to be Orion. Then he stopped and stared at it.
"'Ryin." he said again.
"Why don't we call him Orion?" Hugh said, "He appears to favor it."
"Perfect." I agreed, "We'll call him by his name, not his designation." They nodded.
"Captain, we should find him some parents, too." Crusher added.
"Hugh and I will start on that tonight. We'll be back after our shift, Doctor." She nodded as Hugh and I left together.
We talked about Orion as we walked to Sickbay after our shift was finished.
"I'm worried." Hugh said, looking at me, "What if no one wants to take him? Or what if no one can meet his needs? Ideally, he'd have at least one Borg parent, but the Cooperative is too far away, and I'm the only other Borg here, so-"
"Calm down, Hugh." I laid a hand on his shoulder, "Everything's going to be alright. I promise."
"I'm sorry, Jean-Luc, I just...well, to be honest, I would take him in if I could."
"I know you would, love." He smiled at me before he entered Orion's room.
Hugh's POV
"Hello, Orion." I said as I entered.
"Hugh." he stated. At least he got the idea of using my name instead of my designation. And he knew when I said 'Orion', I was referring to him.
"Yes, I am Hugh." I said, "And you are Orion."
"We are 'Ryin." he said.
"No, you use 'I', not 'We'. 'I am Orion.' is what you say." I instructed.
"You said you are Hugh." Oh no. This was going to be harder than I thought. But maybe I could do this a different way.
"Orion, I am going to show you something." I said, slowly extending my assimilation tubules. "This will help you understand what I'm talking about."
"You may proceed." he said. I nodded and gently pressed the tubules to his neck, reaching for his mind through the new connection. I found him easily, and gently touched his mind with my own. I let him see my individuality, feel it, know it. I let him explore my other feelings when his curious little mind found them. I let him see what the Cooperative was like, and what the crew of the Enterprise was like, and what possibilities lay outside the Collective. When it seemed his curiosty had been satisfied, I withdrew and retracted the tubules.
"Do you understand what you just saw?" I asked. He was silent for a moment, then looked up at me with one soft brown eye and nodded.
"I am Orion."
Picard's POV
I don't know what happened when Hugh stuck his tubules into Orion, but it caused a visible change in him. He relaxed, and his features softened. He looked more like a lost little child rather than the miniature drone he had been. I thought about what Hugh had said, how he would take him in if he could, and I knew he didn't because of me. But watching him with Orion, I knew what had to be done. Orion needed Hugh. The moment Hugh withdrew and I heard the child declare "I am Orion." my decision was made. I called Dr. Crusher over.
"Good news, Beverly." I said, "We've found parents for Orion. They'll be wonderful for him, and you won't find two more caring and loving individuals."
"Oh wonderful!" she exclaimed, "Who are they?" I smiled.
"Why, Hugh and I of course."
