Paint and Powder
A Star Trek anthology by Andrew Joshua Talon
DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit fan based work of prose. Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager et al are the property of CBS Television, and creation of Gene Roddenberry. Please support the official release.
I, Borg Part 2
2368
Geordi met Enterprise in Ten Forward. It was a sort of tradition, to meet every week to discuss the engineering of her hull and systems.
Usually it was a friendly, calm meeting, with some playful back and forth.
This meeting was anything but. She wore a cold, emotionless expression like her default setting... But Geordi knew her well enough to recognize she was deeply upset.
"I heard you almost made Barclay cry," Geordi opened up.
"An exaggeration," Enterprise stated, "he was taking too long during the morning briefing in your absence. I simply took over and got things going."
Geordi sighed softly through his nostrils. He shook his head.
"You were the one who told us to take it easy on him," he said.
"He needs a push every now and again," Enterprise stated.
Geordi sucked in a deep breath, keeping himself calm.
"I understand you're not happy about Hugh-"
"Oh good, you named it," Enterprise stated, sarcasm dripping from her tone, "that makes things so much better-"
"But," Geordi continued, "when I look at him? I don't see a Borg. I see... A lost, confused kid. Who's all alone."
Enterprise sneered.
"And all I see and sense is a Borg drone," she growled. Geordi held his hands up.
"He's not connected to the Collective anymore-"
"Its sensors and probes keep trying to get into my systems," Enterprise hissed, "it's isolated, alone, but it's still a Borg, Geordi!"
Geordi shook his head.
"You've been watching him with us-Does he seem like an imminent danger to us all?"
"it's wrong, Geordi," Enterprise pressed back, leaning forward, "Borg technology is wrong. It looks wrong, it feels wrong. It's horrifying, and monstrous. And just because that drone is young and alone doesn't make it any less dangerous."
Geordi snorted.
"You sound like Guinan," Geordi grunted.
"She's lost so much more than any of us," Enterprise stated, "you should listen to her."
"What would you have me do, Enterprise?" Geordi demanded, "just kill him? He didn't have any choice in being a drone!"
Enterprise was clearly restraining herself, from the redness to her cheeks to the tension in her shoulders. But she spoke calmly.
"A shipgirl doesn't have any choice but to fight an enemy of her crew. But I would still destroy them if they threatened my crew. I have. Without remorse."
"So you're happy that we're going to try and destroy the Borg with him?" Geordi asked, trying to keep his voice calm and level despite the anger building inside him.
Enterprise nodded.
"Absolutely," she stated.
The cold certainty in her tone nearly made Geordi's anger flare up... But he calmed himself, taking a deep breath.
He still remembered the look on Enterprise's face at Wolf 359, after all. How she looked when they visited Resilience.
So he tried a different tact.
"Then why don't you talk to him?" Geordi challenged.
"I've communicated with it-"
"No, I mean really talk with him," Geordi pressed, "why don't you ask him how he feels? Hell, yell at him. Let loose all your anger on him. See what happens. Go ahead."
Enterprise stared incredulously at Geordi.
"You think I'll somehow change my mind on it?" She demanded.
"You might," Geordi challenged.
Enterprise snorted.
"Fine," she hissed, "but you're handling the engineering reports yourself."
She vanished.
The Borg was still in the brig. He'd been kept there, in between visits to the cybernetics lab. Enterprise materialized in front of the cell, glaring at the drone. The armored security officers remained at their stations. They had become a bit complacent, as though having a Borg in the brig was perfectly normal.
Even after everything that had happened, her humanoids were still so prone to ignoring danger.
The Borg finally looked at her, staring in something akin to curiosity.
"Designation?" The Borg asked.
"My name is Enterprise, thank you," she retorted. The Borg tilted its head.
"Enterprise... NCC-1701-D. Galaxy-class starship. Artificial Intelligence."
Enterprise was already wondering why she was bothering.
"Congratulations, you got it right," she scoffed.
"You... Are angry," the Borg said.
"Brilliant observation."
"Why?" The Borg asked. Enterprise glared at him.
"Why do you think?" She hissed, "you're a Borg. You're trying to assimilate and destroy my entire civilization. Is there a reason I shouldn't be angry with you?"
The Borg blinked.
"You... Think assimilation equals destruction?" It asked.
Enterprise nodded.
"Of course it's destruction!" She growled.
"How?" the Borg asked, "your civilization is preserved. All information stored. Retained. What is relevant is taken and used, what is irrelevant is discarded-"
"Discarded?" Enterprise laughed angrily, "that's how you would think of it. You're not preserving anything. You're consuming it. Destroying it all."
The Borg stared.
"Explain," he ordered. Enterprise shook her head.
"When you assimilate someone... They stop. Their existence ends, right there. All that's left is the raw data of their existence. Stored away as irrelevant data. That individual never acts again, they never change. They're gone. And what's worse? You use their data to do it to others. You turn their bodies into tools. Just to gain more resources, more data. And all of it... All of it is just nothing. Stored away as a curiosity, save for anything that might help your Collective keep consuming more and more. Individuals grow and change. Civilizations grow and change. You just grow. Like cancer. Replacing everything that was amazing, diverse, and dynamic with your cold, living death. You've done that to so many of my sisters, so many of my citizens. That's why I hate you. I hate you all, and I want to destroy you!"
The Borg had backed up, his back touching the rear wall of the cell. It wasn't until that sound echoed over her audio receptors that she realized she was in the cell with the Borg, towering over him.
Fear gleamed in his eyes. He then asked another question.
"Does Geordi... Feel the same way?" He asked softly. He looked almost worried.
She hated how that made her feel.
Enterprise stepped back.
"Geordi... Wants to see the best in everyone," she said roughly, suddenly unable to look at the Borg, "he doesn't hate you... He just doesn't want to be assimilated."
"You hate... Because of what you have lost to us," the Borg continued. Enterprise slowly nodded.
"Yes."
"... Does the hatred make resistance easier?" The Borg asked.
Enterprise shook her head, and looked back at the Borg.
"Sometimes," she said, "it mostly... Just hurts. To lose people, beings, you care about."
The Borg stared back.
"Will causing me pain... Change that?" He asked.
Enterprise nearly struck him... But the innocence in his voice and face made her stay her hand. It was so at odds with everything her sensors were telling about the Borg.
He didn't know. He didn't know.
"... No," Enterprise admitted softly, lowering her hand, "no. I suppose it won't."
"Why... Do you have those relationships then?" The Borg asked. "Why is Geordi... My friend? Why is Doctor Crusher my friend? If the loss... Hurts so much?"
Jim... Nyota... Chris... Rachel...
So many people she'd lost flashed through her mind. Hundreds of them. All the moments they were lost...
And all the moments they were amazing. Being brave. Being clever. Being sad. Being angry. Being creative. Being melancholy.
She was fighting back tears as she looked away from the Borg.
"... Because existence without friendships is meaningless," Enterprise said, "without relationships, we are alone. And loneliness doesn't... Doesn't give you anything new. You are left isolated, and you freeze and decay."
"... I too was alone," the Borg murmured, "when I was disconnected from the Collective. Then you found me... And I was no longer alone. If I lose my relationships... I will be in pain."
He looked intently at her.
"I... Do not want to feel this pain," he said, "how do you not feel this?"
"... You can't," Enterprise said softly, "but... But that pain indicates how much it meant to you. How much the relationship mattered. The more you care, the worse it hurts... But the more you have gained from the experience."
Hugh tilted his head.
"Relationships... Give you meaning," he mused. "Then... Your hatred of me. Of Borg... Means your relationships mattered very much to you."
Enterprise slowly nodded.
"They do," she said softly.
Hugh slowly nodded back.
"Geordi said you were a good person, because you care so much. Is that why he thinks so? You feel so much?"
"Among other reasons," Enterprise said, "he's very important to me."
Hugh stared into her eyes.
"He is... Important to me, too," he said.
"I suppose so," Enterprise murmured.
She ended her projection. She glared out into space through her sensors. Tears were pouring down her digital cheeks.
"Maker damnit," she cursed.
Sometimes, she really hated Geordi...
Enterprise does have to go through a lot... But even a century in age, she's still learning new things about herself.
