II.
"Come in."
The door opened to the captain's ready room and Heva Brookes stepped in, shyly.
She stood by the door for a short time before finally speaking. "Sir, it's an honor to be serving under you."
Jean-Luc smiled and motioned for her to sit down. She complied, transfixed on the captain. For a long time, they stared at each other as though studying one another.
"I suppose you know why I have asked you to join me in here today, Lieutenant." Picard said, before taking a sip of his Earl Grey.
Heva nodded. "I do. I understand you want to know more about my history with the collective." Picard nodded and sat back, allowing her to proceed.
Heva took a deep breath. "Well…I was nine years old when my father's vessel, the Freedom, was intercepted by the Borg. I was the first to be assimilated. It was, as you know, a strange…painful process. But eventually, I was given my designation; One of Four." She paused, shifting uneasily in her seat and looking out of the window. A look came over her face, one Jean-Luc knew well. The look of a painful past.
"For three years, I was connected to the Hive. I worked and worked. No particular station, I was just used for the usual protocol. To assimilate, regenerate, program, navigate, etc. At one point, there was…a disturbance in the Hive, a so called virus. It made over ten thousand drones gain their old memories back and escape back into individuality. The connection with the Hive mind was lost. I hopped aboard a small vessel with a few humans, a Klingon, and two Vulcans. Their medical staff were generous to me, knowing that I knew what was happening to me, plus, I was still technically a child. Only 12. The majority of my Borg implants were removed then and there. Others took years to remove. Finally, I had to have parts of my body covered in artificial skin, others were completely saved. I only have a few internal implants left, completely insignificant as far as I am concerned."
Picard just looked at her over his tea cup, taking her story in with some difficulty. However he understood her experience, and even felt empathetic. Three days was hard enough, but three years?
"Well…after that I realized I had forgotten most information about the Borg. I became determined to find a way to either eliminate or bring peace with them. I joined Star Fleet Academy and became Ensign in less than a year. I began studying things with the Borg history, including your experience."
Jean-Luc moved awkwardly in his seat.
"And ever since then, my research has greatly grown and I was promoted to Lieutenant just two years ago."
Picard nodded and set down his tea. He turned his chair toward the window and brought a hand to his chin, rubbing it absentmindedly.
"When I was assimilated," he began, quietly. "I still had some of my mind with me. I felt myself began to deteriorate slowly, becoming more and more of a drone as the seconds passed. Thankfully, my first officer concocted a plan to save me, he and Commander Data restored me. As well as Doctor Crusher. It was a slow recovery for me. Only a few days as a Borg drone and I felt like I would never be the same. Sometimes, when we encounter them, I hear them…It's unsettling."
Brookes nodded. "I encountered the Borg once when I was on a vessel called the Intrepid. Half of the crew was assimilated…I almost was. Me and the rest of the crew escaped. I heard them…they were saying all kinds of things that I didn't want to hear."
They looked at one another again, quietly deciding to move on.
"What point is your research at now?" Picard asked.
"It's to the point where I completely understand how the Hive works, what they strive for, how they do it, all kinds of things. It will benefit. If I can just do research here, on the Enterprise before we get to the uncharted system, I believe I will come up with a satisfactory defense against them at least. Do you have a holodeck?"
The captain nodded. "Why?"
"I wish to do simulations with Commander Data, and possibly another crewman if possible. To see if the defense I come up with will be accurate. If that is alright with you, captain."
"Of course it's alright with me. The more practice, the better."
Heva smiled and nodded in agreement. "If there's nothing more, captain, I would like to meet Commander Data for the rest of my tour. I promised him I would meet him around this time."
Picard stood, Heva followed suit. He reached out his hand and shook hers. They looked at each other again one more time and she took her leave.
Long after she had left, Picard was still staring at the door, feeling a bond slowly forming between them. Something else was stirring inside of him, a sort of churn in his stomach. Perhaps the thought of knowing that she had been a part of the Borg collective once before like he had made their new bond stronger than it usually would be after just meeting. Either way, he was glad that she was a part of his crew.