The screaming ended after a few minutes and then the silence returned, thicker than it had been before.

"Seven of nine?" Kerra asked hesitantly, the fear evident in her voice.

"Yes?" I answered, moving to press up against the bars, mirroring her position.

"Why do you think they were screaming?"

"I do not know. I have never known why anybody screamed. It does not change anything" I answered in a matter of fact manner. As a drone I had never understood why those I assimilated screamed instead of trying to fight. Her eyes met mine and I knew that I had said the wrong thing.

"I'm sure we will find out soon enough" I offered. Kerra did not look comforted by that thought either.

A sudden commotion made us both jump back from our bars. Heavy boots made loud clomping noises that echoed towards us. The door to my cell was flung wide open and Captain Janeway was thrown in to join me. For some reason I had expected her to be bleeding and bruised and yet there was nothing physically different about her.

"Captain? What happened?" I asked curiously.

"You, out!" A voice shouted from the door to our cell. The guards, clad in their black armour had not left. They were pointing at me.

"No." I replied angrily. Who were they to order a Borg drone around? The closest guard drew his weapon and levelled it at my head.

"I will not ask again." He said firmly. I glanced down at the Captain. Her blue eyes met mine, silently urging me to comply. I rose and her hands trailed down my arms before squeezing my hands. She did not speak, pain evident on her face. I made my way out of the cell and passed in front of the guards.

"Technically you did not ask the first time." I muttered as I passed. He cracked his weapon against my head and I fell, the pain almost blinding. They dragged me down the corridor along with Kerra and two other prisoners and I was deposited in a large white room with only a singular entrance. There was an isolated table and chair in the middle of the cavernous room. The door had slid closed behind me leaving me alone in the room. I sat in the chair and waited.

"Species number 4458 specimen 2, are you ready for your first test?" A mechanical female voice seemed to come from the ceiling. I remained defiantly silent.

"Species number 4458 specimen 2, please confirm your status."

"What test?" I asked angrily.

"This is your first intelligence test. For every question you get wrong we will inflict a small amount of pain on you, the pain will increase in severity with each incorrect answer. You have 50 minutes to answer 100 questions. You will find out your score at the end. Are you ready species 4458 specimen 2?"

"And what if I refuse to participate?" I enquired, anger lacing my words.

"Previous specimens have died from the level of pain they had to endure. Non-participation is not advised species 4458 specimen 2. Are you ready?"

"Yes." I choked out through my clenched jaw. I wondered how many Captain Janeway had gotten wrong. The wall in front of me shimmered and my first multiple choice question appeared. Advanced maths. I allowed myself a small smile before answering; I am Borg.

"D"

The second question appeared instantly.

"B"

The minutes flew by as I rapidly answered question after question and before I knew it I had answered the 100th question.

"Species 4458 specimen 2, your test is over. Your score is 100." I smirked triumphantly, though my joy was short lived.

"Species 4458 specimen 1 scored 74. A species is a team, a team is affected by all of its members."

There was a beep and a tiny burst of pain ran over my body originating from the base of my neck. Another beep sounded and another burst of pain, slightly more intense than before struck me. The third beep sounded and once again more pain burned my skin. It continued like this, each beep followed by a burst of pain more intense than the last. At the 20th beep my body convulsed with the pain, yet I did not scream. I would not scream. At the 24th beep I collapsed to the floor, my body unwillingly contracting into the foetal position. My mouth remained closed, my teeth gritted. Finally beep number 26 sounded and a last excruciating bolt of pain crashed over my body. Then there was nothing. I got to my feet slowly, ignoring the trembling of my muscles. The door opened and my guards reappeared to take me back to my cell. I considered trying to fight them, but logically that would get me nowhere at this moment in time. I needed more information.

I was guided back to my cell with no sign of the other prisoners. I must have been the first to finish. The thought filled me with a small sense of pride but this was quickly quashed by anger that I had had to endure the test in the first place. I was shoved roughly back into my cell, where the Captain sat propped up against a wall waiting for me.

"Seven!" She exclaimed, clamouring to her feet inelegantly as I entered. Her hands reached for me brushing over my biceps protectively, while her eyes searched mine, though for what I didn't know.

"Are you ok?" She asked, concern raising the pitch of her voice. I sat down cross-legged on the floor opposite her, pulling her down with me. I noted that her hands now rested on my forearms. Having limited experience of human interaction I couldn't tell if this amount of contact was routine between a Captain and her crewmembers. What disturbed me the most was the realisation that I didn't find it to be an altogether unpleasant experience. I shrugged the thoughts away as quickly as they had manifested; they were irrelevant.

"I am functioning adequately Captain."

"What was your sc-"

"100" I interrupted. "Although it would seem that we are a team and consequently are penalised as such. I received 26 incidents of pain for your errors." Something flickered on her face, anger perhaps and was quickly replaced with guilt.

"I'm sorry Seven." Her hands retreated from their position on my forearms, my skin suddenly feeling cool in their absence.

"It is merely a flaw of your humanity. You scored highly despite your disadvantage."

"My disadvantage?" Her eyes sparked with a familiar anger and her jaw clenched.

"Your humanity." I answered, nonplussed.

"I know what you meant Seven but being human is not a disadvantage."

"You are Human and scored 74, I am Borg and scored 100. I fail to see the evidence to support your statement." I watched as she studied me for a moment. Her dark blue eyes flickered with something akin to victory, but there was something else there too. Worry.

"How long do you have before you need to regenerate?" She asked quietly. I glared at her angrily, for picking up on my only weakness. Even I had to admit that being a Borg Drone in captivity posed a problem.

"I do not know." I shuffled back until I was resting against the opposite wall, my mood sombre. We didn't speak for a long while as my thoughts shifted through cyclical anger and denial. The guards brought food some while after the testing and the Captain ate quickly. I looked down at my tray and my stomach made a curious grumbling sound.

"I apologise Captain." I felt the heat envelop my cheeks as I blushed.

She glanced up at me noticing my tray remained untouched on my lap.

"Why aren't you eating?" She asked quizzically.

"I do not know. I haven't eaten yet Captain. My stomach does feel odd however."

She looked at me with something akin to wonder, as if she had completely forgotten that the doctor has been feeding me intra-venously. She delicately spooned the remaining contents of her tray into her mouth and set it aside, scooting over to sit cross-legged in front of me. She lifted my spoon and scooped up a small amount of the mushy luke-warm grain with it, motioning for me to take hold of the utensil.

"I am not a child Captain. I can fill my own spoon." I said haughtily, half annoyed at her, half at myself for requiring her help in the first place.

"I'm sure you can Seven." She murmured with a slight sparkle in her eye. "Put it in your mouth and then chew, I'm sure the swallow reflex will come naturally." I hesitated, then put the spoon in my mouth, withdrawing it slowly. I chewed, emulating what I had seen the Captain do. I jerked in surprise when I swallowed suddenly. It was a strange sensation to say the least. Janeway smiled amusedly, her finger moving to gather some of the grainy pulp that had escaped my mouth and had come to rest on my chin. My eyes became glued to her finger as she licked it off her appendage. I had never considered that I would ever find the way in which a tongue moved even remotely fascinating, but something in me very much wanted to see her repeat the gesture. An intense blush diffused over her cheeks once she realised I was watching her intently.

"Well er, I'm sure you've got it now Seven" She spluttered and moved back to her wall.

"Yes, thank you Captain." I smiled and slowly started to make progress with my meal.

The guards came back a while later to take our plates.

"Bathroom." The guard closest to us said, motioning for us to leave the cell. All of the prisoners were led to a reasonably large communal bathing area. I surveyed the two other species that were being kept further down the corridor from the Captain and I and the Lodarians. The first of the two species was extremely tall, over 8 feet in height. Their skin was dark brown and they were well muscled. The other species was much smaller only about 5 feet tall and thin. They had almost silvery skin and pointed ears. Intelligence rolled off them in waves.

"You have one hour." The guards announced taking up a position by the door.


Once we were back to our cell there was an announcement. An all too familiar female voice resonated overhead.

"The current standings are Species 4455 – 198, Species 4458 – 174, Species 4457 – 160 and Species 4456 – 150."

We were second. I felt myself bristle slightly; I disliked that we weren't first.

"Careful the wind doesn't change, your face will get stuck like that." She laughed. I bristled further.

"I'm glad you find our predicament so amusing Captain. I was under the impression that we were still captives being held against our will. Also there is no wind." I retorted icily. Her complete lack of appreciation for our dire situation displeased me greatly.

"Remind me to teach you about having a sense of humour. Laughing can get you through some difficult situations." She admonished me gently, before continuing with her point. "Didn't you listen to the rankings Seven?" I glowered. Of course I had. "We are second, no prizes for guessing the small species is first. I'm guessing our muscled rivals are in last place unless they're a hell of a lot more intelligent than they look." She spoke in a low tone, so as to avoid our fellow prisoners overhearing. "Don't you see? We're in a perfect position; humans are fantastically well-rounded. Intelligence won't be the only attribute they test."

"Captain, may I remind you that if we win we get our DNA harvested. We do not win our freedom."

"What do you think they do to the losers of each 'round' Seven." She fired back heatedly. I nodded, conceding the point.

"I still fail to see how that gets us out of here Captain."

"It buys us time Seven, Chakotay will come looking for us."

Considering that we had been captured by a species that seemed to be very good at hiding I had to admit my faith in Chakotay was severely lacking. Something told me however, that voicing my opinion to the Captain at this time would not be favourable. I had to admire her mental strength. Although I hated her at times when I thought of her severing me from the collective, a small part of me had concluded that she was at least worthy of my respect.

I studied the older woman as she swept a hand tiredly across her brow tucking a stray strand of newly washed hair into place. She seemed exhausted all of a sudden, it was easy to forget that she was only human and enduring that level of pain must have affected her greatly. I had not yet started to tire from my absence of regeneration and I knew my pain threshold must be higher than hers. My hand reached out to touch her forearm. A gesture that I think surprised us both.

"Captain…" I began slowly, "I will keep watch while you sleep." For a second she looked like she might protest, but then she nodded and lay down alongside the opposite wall. It didn't take long for her to drift off and once again I marvelled at how different her face looked while she slept. There was something oddly compelling about it. Rohin and Kerra didn't last much longer than the Captain. They had scored 14 less than us and were almost certainly feeling the effects of it.

Long after the light originating from down the corridor had faded into blackness, I lay down on the hard floor and stared up at the ceiling, the Captains rhythmic deep breathing oddly comforting as my mind gradually filled with anxiety over my only weakness. I had lied earlier, I could only last for a few more days before, without regeneration, the Borg part of my body would begin to shut down.


A/N:- I apologise for the delay with this story. I am finding it challenging to write in the 1st person, although I do like the challenge I must admit, it's just meaning I'm having to re-write a lot of things. I would greatly appreciate any feedback as this is my first 1st person story (pun unintentional) and I would like to know how I'm doing. Thank you for reading, please review if you have the time x