Luthien walked along her favourite path in Rikel IV. The same one she had shown Samantha. It was dusk and a breeze caressed the leaves of the trees. She wanted some time on her own to ponder on everything that had happened since they landed on Rikel IV.
A couple of days had passed since she had taken Samantha and her parents for a walk through the village's streets. The two adults were struggling with asking questions but they tried. The Counselor hoped it was the beginning of a dialogue between parents and child. She hoped Janie and Mark started to reaffirm their own individuality also.
The Betazoid was slightly surprised to see them still in that state, but after careful consideration she thought of previous encounters where the population was at least maintaining some resemblance of a link. If Janie and Mark lived in a society such as that, they would have probably availed themselves of such tool. The kind of link other societies adopted wasn't necessarily through Borg trasponders. They might have adopted some form of fast, instant communication, or wore augmented reality visors that were connected to each other. The Rikelian government had banned any such tool from the get go, and it looked like some of the people who were assimilated didn't have the time to adjust. The other former Borg she had talked to on Rikel IV didn't appear to be affected as much as Samantha's parents, but everyone reacted differently.
The Betazoid's train of thought was interrupted by something that appeared to sound like someone crying.
She stopped walking and paid attention to the sounds. It became louder with each moment and she could definitely tell now that someone was crying.
She followed the sobs and sighs until she reached the lake. There she found Samantha, sat on the grass with the knees against her chest and her arms around her knees.
Luthien walked up to her and kneeled, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Sammy, what's happening?"
The girl turned around towards her left, where the Counselor was. Tears poured down her face and she clung to one of Luthien's arms. The woman sat down next to her and caressed her face. "Talk to me, Sammy, what's going on?"
In between sighs and tears, the kid replied with a broken voice, "I am... not allowed… to say."
Luthien cocked her head, her eyebrows furrowed. "Why? What can't you say?"
"I can't!"
"Sammy, why not?"
"Mummy and daddy will treat me bad if they find out."
The blonde woman ran her fingers through the kid's hair trying to reassure her. "I won't tell them if you don't."
Samantha just kept crying. "What if they are spying?"
The Betazoid looked at the kid quietly for some time. That last statement was so innocent and so fearful, of course if the parents were around they wouldn't just stand there and spy. But she played along."Hey let's do this. Did you know I can read your mind? If you give me permission, I'll just do that and nobody can say you said anything."
Samantha looked up still sobbing loudly, "You can do that?"
Luthien nodded once and smiled the best she could, although the sight of the kid in tears was making it very difficult.
Samantha completely broke down in tears. The Betazoid embraced the kid and began the telepathic link. What she discovered broke her heart.
Most of the bruises didn't come from the fights with the other kids.
Her short temper didn't come from the bullying.
Her stealing habits didn't come solely from the Collective lifestyle.
Her parents suffered from repeated psychotic breakdowns, caused by the addiction to the Collective. They turned violent when the withdrawal kicked in and they were so against each other and the kid. Any minor argument sparked an avalanche of rage which wouldn't stop until the parents were exhausted from the fighting.
Luthien was conflicted. She wanted to take off right there and then and put the girl's parents in their place. But she was also very aware of their struggle, and that their condition had simply gone unnoticed and they also needed help. On the other hand she knew exactly how the girl felt and leaving her alone then was not an option.
She simply held Samantha tight for a very long time and didn't let her go until she stopped crying.
Luthien spent a lot of time with Samantha since that day. She compiled a rehabilitation program for her parents and followed their progress closely.
In the meantime she spent at least an hour every day with the girl. When she could she would stay with her for longer.
Samantha, safe from the threats of her parents, was able to share many of the things that had happened and had come to trust Luthien like no one else before. For the little girl, the Betazoid was her world. All she knew was that she was kind, and made her feel happy somehow, even just by being around. Maybe a few years down the line, she would have realised that the Betazoid was perhaps the first person she fell in love with, however platonic that feeling was.
Luthien took her for many long strolls. She was careful to bring the girl's attention to all the beautiful things they encountered – the flowers, the animals, the colours of the sunset.
"NOOO!" Samantha screamed. "Don't leave me! Please! Don't leave me!" The little girl squeezed the Counselor, who was kneeled in front of her, as strong as she could. She grabbed hold of her sleeves and didn't want to let go.
Luthien held the girl tight, like she did the first time by the lake.
The dreaded day when the mission of the Guardian on Rikel IV had to end had come, and unfortunately she couldn't just take with her everyone she had counseled or her office would have been pretty crowded. The Federation was to send further vessels with more supplies to maintain the growth of the population until they were fully self sufficient.
The problem with the pirates and the Syndicate was also solved, as when they found out that the system was protected by the Federation, they backed off and moved onto easier pickings.
Samantha's parents had improved a lot. They had finally dealt with the addiction to the link and as such they were no longer violent. And they did love their daughter very much. That family had been through enough tragedy already, now they could rebuild and they needed to be given the chance.
One of the mission directives was to try and reintegrate the victims of the Borg incursions into their normal lifestyles. While one could say that being assimilated is anything but normal, it was important that Starfleet worked to restore the balance of the civilisations that were ruined.
Luthien did love the girl but she also had to keep her attachments in check.
"I am sorry sweetie, but there are other places I need to visit, other people that need our help." Leaving people behind was the hardest part of her job.
"But I don't want you to go!" Samantha had tears in her eyes. She felt fingers run through her hair, a familiar touch that had soothed her many times before.
The two spent their last couple of hours together in Vausse's office before they had to say their goodbyes. Luthien made sure they were the most memorable the girl would have experienced for a while.
A few hours had passed and the Guardian was headed to a near Starbase for routine maintenance and staff leave.
The low key humming of the life support systems usually didn't disturb Luthien, yet it seemed very loud and tormenting this time. She couldn't shake that image of the little girl crying when they had to part ways. She hoped that all her efforts were not lost in that one moment, and that Samantha could finally begin to build a life of her own.
She sat at her desk, her chin resting on the interlocked hands. She replayed many of the times she spent together with the troubled child. She missed her already.
A tear ran along her face as she ventured her gaze towards the replicator. The dreamcatcher was no longer there. She gave it to Samantha as a keepsake, and told her that when she had nightmares all she had to do was to think about that gift.
In its place there was a drawing with two stick figures. One was taller than the other and they held hands. A couple of hearts were between them and a name was written of top of each: Luthien and Sammy.