They had to reach engineering if they had any hope of stopping the invasion, and regaining control of the ship. The plan had been to puncture one of the plasma coolant tanks, flooding the area with gas that would liquify the Borg's organic components, and neutralize the hive, but their party was quickly becoming overwhelmed, and the Borg had already adapted to the phaser rifles, rendering them useless.

Picard was working desperately to release the lock on the doors to main engineering while Naseema remained at his side, determined to protect her captain. She was not a Starfleet officer, and he'd wanted her to remain on the bridge, away from imminent harm, but she'd insisted on accompanying the team. She'd proven her value on missions of this nature, time and time again, and Picard knew she would be particularly valuable in this situation, but even still, he kept her secret from the others, as he had for years. The fifteen hundred year old Feeonix could hear the thoughts of the dangerous and aggressive cybernetic species, just as she could hear the thoughts of other forms of artificial life, including those of the Enterprise's android second officer, Lt. Commander Data. Naseema was a stubborn creature, and adamant that she would not sit on the sidelines while she lost the ship, the captain, and her android protector, to the Borg. Once the fiery ring encircling her large blue irises flared up, Picard knew he was fighting a losing battle with her, so he relented, and agreed to let her join them.

"You must work faster, sir," she said calmly, after Commander Worf informed them their weapons had become nothing more than glorified clubs. Nearly as soon as the words left her lips, the control panel he'd been attempting to tamper with shorted out, and showered them with sparks. The doors flew open and a large Borg drone descended on them. Naseema thrust herself between the drone and her captain, but while she was a formidable opponent, the drone was much larger, and she struggled to keep it from pinning them into the corner.

Just as he did anytime either the captain or the Feeonix was threatened, Data came to the rescue, and was on the drone in an instant. He roughly pulled it off Naseema, and broke it's neck, receiving an appreciative nod from her in return. She and Picard stuck close to each other, and Data stayed close to them as more Borg drones swarmed their position. Another lunged at Picard, and Data tossed it down the corridor into several others, knocking them down like bowling pins. Naseema ducked out of the path of a third, and grabbed Data's arm as he pulled her in close beside him, determined to put himself between her and anything that moved.

"Regroup on deck fifteen! Don't let them touch you!" Picard called out the order to retreat, and in that instant, Data felt Naseema's grip on him falter as she let out a nearly inaudible gasp. His head whipped around to see her eyes roll back as her small frame crumpled to the floor, her hand slipping from his arm as she fell. The drones had attacked her first, and the split-second distraction was all they needed. By the time Data felt his feet yanked from underneath him, it was too late, and he was already being dragged through the opening at the base of engineering's emergency door.

"Captain!" he cried out, but all Picard could do was call the android's name back to him, and watch in horror as the bodies of both his Feeonix ambassador, and his second officer disappeared through the narrow opening before it slammed shut again.

Data pulled back, and thrust his foot out with all his strength, sending the drone who had a hold of his leg, careening backwards. Another came at him from above, attempting to pin his arms down, but the android grabbed first, and flung the drone aside. He turned his head towards Naseema, who lay motionless on her side, with her back to him.

"Naseema!" he called to her, and her silence confirmed for him that she was indeed unconscious. He'd faced dire situations before, and his survival mode kicked in without hesitation. I must get her to safety, was his only thought. Kicking another attacking drone away, he scrambled towards her on his hands and knees, but didn't make it far before two more drones were on his back. He managed to roll over, but was quickly overwhelmed as more drones fell on him. He arched his head back as he struggled against his attackers. "Naseema! You must wake up!" he yelled, and despite having de-activated his emotion chip, the desperation in his voice was audible. He freed an arm, and shoved one drone into another as he turned on his stomach again, digging his fingers into the grated floor to pull himself forward. He reached towards her, grazing the fabric of her shirt with his fingertips before everything went black.

When he awoke, he was staring at the floor. He couldn't move his limbs, and he turned his head to confirm his restraints, his arms and legs strapped to a table. He tugged at the bonds as the table began to rotate upwards, giving him a panoramic view of what was once main engineering, and was now the center of the Borg hive. The table continued it's rotation until he was on his back, facing a bizarre-looking collection of tentacle-like tubes that menacingly snaked down from the ceiling, far above him. He caught a brief flash of honey-colored hair in the corner of his eye.

She is still alive. He didn't know if the Borg had already attempted to assimilate the Feeonix ambassador he was supposed to protect, or if such a thing were even possible, but if she were alive, and unrestrained, there was a chance for them to escape, a chance for them to carry out the captain's plan, and rupture the coolant tank. In the meantime, he had to stall the Borg until he could determine Naseema's location, and her present state of mind.

From his prostrate position, he watched a pair of drones attempting to access the Enterprise's main computer. "Your attempts to break the encryption codes will not be successful," he told them. "Nor will your attempts to assimilate me into your collective." He continued to scan the room for any other sign of Naseema, but then a strange, disembodied voice began speaking to him. A female voice, soothing, and yet threatening, all at once. He found his attention captured.

"Brave words," the voice said. "I've heard them before. From s of species, across s of worlds, since long before you were created. Now, they are all Borg."

Data was unimpressed by the voice's assertion. "I am unlike any lifeform you have encountered before," he replied coolly. "The codes stored in my neural net cannot be forcibly removed."

"You are an imperfect being, created by an imperfect being," the voice said, it's confidence unwavering. "Finding your weakness is only a matter of time." The voice's final, ominous statement was directly followed by an abrupt, high-pitched whirring noise directly on his left. As the drill began to bore through his duranium skull, Data began to formulate his next move.

He contemplated continuing to question the strange voice, knowing he would get no response from the drones, but decided it was in his best interest to remain still while the drill bored into his brain. Even the smallest movement on his part could result in irreparable, and possibly fatal damage. He tried to determine what the purpose of their exploration into his head was. Were they attempting to discern whether or not he could be assimilated? Were they really trying to remove the encryption codes by force? Was there some other, entirely different, insidious motive? Were his emotion chip active, he was certain this entire scenario would be anxiety inducing, to say the least, and he was glad the captain had suggested he de-activate it earlier. He had given serious thought to having it removed permanently, once Geordi had been able to repair the damage it had caused when it fused to his relay. He found that once the initial thrill of experiencing what was so significant to his human companions, wore off, he struggled to control his emotions more than he'd anticipated. He didn't like now having to contend with so much fear and self-doubt. He also found he still had difficulty understanding humor. He had naively thought the chip would make the concept of humor clear, but it's subtle nuances and variations were far more complex than he'd initially anticipated, and he found he still missed the punchline most of the time. It was the friendships he shared with Geordi and Naseema that finally cemented his determination to master control of the chip's effects on him. He felt relaxed around Geordi. The engineer had always accepted him for who he was, and while hesitant at first, Geordi ultimately accepted the chip as well. They had a good time together, they enjoyed the same things, and their conversations flowed easily. Geordi did his best to continue explaining why some things were funny at certain times, but not at others , and why some things were funny, but innappropriately so. It was exhausting, and while he wasn't able to become tired, Geordi was, so he finally decided to cut his losses, and accept that there were some things he just wasn't going to get. His relationship with Naseema, on the other hand, was something entirely different. When the chip had first overloaded his relay, and fused into his brain, he became convinced he couldn't control his emotions. His first experience with fear had nearly gotten Geordi killed, and had so severely shaken his faith in himself, he'd been desperate to be deactivated until it could be removed. Picard had refused his request, and told him he must learn to incorporate his new emotions into his life, and while he'd accepted the captain's decision, Naseema's reaction had been of a more convincing nature. It was one of the only times she had been forceful with him, grabbing his face, and forcing him to look at her. "Listen to me," she'd said, almost angry with him. "You can do this." He'd tried to look away from her. "I cannot," he'd argued weakly, but he only succeeded in strengthening her resolve, and she responded by tightening her grip on him. "Yes you can!" she'd barked in his face, her penetrating eyes carried an expression so deadly serious, he knew better than to argue with her further, and if she believed that strongly in him, he did not want to disappoint her too, since he was already disappointed with himself. After that, it hadn't taken him long to realize he liked the way he felt when he was with her. She was intelligent, fun, and she told him the most exciting, exaggerated stories, speaking with her hands and eyes, as well as her mouth. Like him, she imitated humans, and her centuries of practice had made her very good at it. She was able to teach him the subtleties and idiosyncrasies that came so naturally to the humans, they couldn't necessarily explain them themselves. He wanted to keep the chip, just so he could keep the emotions she could draw out of him with seemingly effortless ease. She had tipped the scales in favor of the good feelings. While he was uncertain of what the disembodied voice had planned for him, or for Naseema, he decided then, that regardless of what happened to him, he needed to bring her home.

He used his peripheral vision to continue searching for another glimpse of Naseema while the irritating whir of the drill continued in his ear.

Once the drilling stopped, he would press for information on the missing Feeonix, and refuse any kind of co-operation until he was assured of her safety. His android strength, and speed would serve him well, and he was confident that he could escape with them both, whether Naseema was mobile, or not. He just hoped the drones wouldn't disable him before his opportunity presented itself.

He tried to focus his thoughts on something more pleasant, when the drilling abruptly stopped. He turned his head in an attempt to see what the drones were doing, and everything went black again.

Naseema, the voice said softly. Naseema didn't answer. She remained sitting in the chair she had no idea how she'd ended up in, staring at the bulkhead. Upon receiving no answer, the gentle voice continued, That is your name, is it not, Feeonix?

Yes.

She didn't want to answer, but she couldn't seem to stop herself. She felt strange, as if she were floating around inside her own mind. She could hear the voice as clearly as if it were speaking right in her ear, but there was nobody there, and she already seemed to understand the voice was not audible to anyone but her. There was nobody else there to speak to, nobody but Data...Data...where was Data? The last thing she remembered was standing next to him in the corridor outside engineering. He would not have abandoned her. Where was he? Where was she? This looked like engineering, but...

Your android companion is fine, don't be concerned, the voice told her, it's warm, soothing quality was relaxing, and made Naseema feel drowsy. He is proving to be very unco-operative. We need your assistance, Naseema.

Alright.

We are not unreasonable, the voice said.We are willing to offer something in exchange for his compliance, but we do not know what sort encouragement would be effective.

Naseema smiled to herself. Sweet, gentle Data. He was always so good to her. If she could get him something he wanted, what was the harm in that?

What enticement did you have in mind? she asked. She liked this form of communication. It was so effortless, so easy. She wished she could talk to Data like this. She wished he could hear her thoughts the way she could hear his. She wished he knew how she felt about him, how wonderful and special she thought he was. She should have told him...before this.

You can hear his thoughts, Naseema. That is why we came to you, the voice said. You know what he desires better than anyone else. We can make his greatest dreams come true. We only need to know what it is he wants. You can tell us what that is. Will you tell us, Naseema?

Yes, she replied. More than anything, he desires to be human.