A question still remains. Where they able to bring back their human side in all of the Borg? The answer would be a simple no. Some responded well to the treatment and some… did not. When Locutus turned back into Picard, who was the first to respond well to the treatment, he insisted they go back, knowing it was a matter of time before they came here to destroy them, from space after they discover they had been broken off once entering the atmosphere.
Picard transported back to the ship, not knowing that the borg up there had also been cut off by the great masterminds Riker, Crusher and Data. He expected to hide while up there, and take control, ejecting the Borg into space.
"Captain!" a familiar voice came as Jean-Luc transported directly to sickbay, where he assumed the least amount of Borg would be located, given they didn't really use medicines to heal, just the nanoprobes. Jean-Luc looked to find Beverly and Riker there, with a phaser pointed at him. Of course he still looked Borg to them, given there wasn't enough time to remove the implants.
"Will! Beverly!" Picard said startled holding a phaser aloft, having been prepared for some Borg here.
"Jean-Luc? Are you actually there?" the doctor asked surprised, yet with frighten in her voice.
"Yes it's me. No time to explain, how the hell did you survive? I thought you three died!" the captain exclaimed.
"Simple," Data said coming from around the corner, "We faked our deaths when the Borg had assimilated everyone but us. We hid on the hull of the ship."
"Now we've told you want you want, prove to us you really are the captain and not Locutus," Riker said disbelievingly.
"I use the word 'I' because I am Jean-Luc Picard. How do you want me to prove it?" Jean-Luc asked.
"Are Deanna and the others still on the planet… not assimilated?" Riker asked still suspicious.
"Yes, they are. A few we assimilated before she managed to get me to act human again, Number One," Picard replied. Riker tapped his badge keeping on finger on the trigger just in case.
"Riker to Troi do you read me?" Riker said. A moment of silence followed. She didn't seem to answer. "Seems you lied Locutus." Then Picard shook his head unsure of why. Suddenly a voice came.
"Sorry Commander, The counselor is currently busy, and struggling with the Borg. She isn't a doctor… Wait… Commander Riker? What the-?" the voice replied surprised.
"Thank you, we'll explain later," Riker replied and lowered his phaser, "You're back Captain!" Beverly peered at Riker and smiled, and went up to Picard and hugged him, and he hugged her back.
"Yes, glad to be back. But not for long. How has it been going up here. I assume you figured out how to disable the Borg up here?" The captain replied, still in the embrace, which Beverly then broke to speak.
"Well Jean-Luc, we have a few members humanized, like you are, but some aren't responding to the treatment," Beverly sighed.
"Send the ones you can't do yet down to the planet, if they reactivate they will be severed from the collective," the captain stated, and ordered.
"Aye sir. I will do it, since the doctor is needed here," Data remarked and left the room.
"I'll help him. I'll go down to the planet and ensure they get here," Riker replied, actually just wanting to go down and see a dear friend on the planet below.
"Make it so," Picard replied, and Riker left. Everything felt odd with the Borg arm and implants, at least the eye piece was taken off, but the rest had remained on him. Picard's skin wasn't the pale of the Borg anymore, but his apricot French skin pigment.
"Are we going back Jean-Luc?" Beverly asked applying a hyperspray in a Borg on her table.
"What other choice do we have?" Picard asked.
"We could live down on the planet, the Borg won't bother us there, I don't think," Beverly replied.
"If you want to, be my guest, but I can't live knowing I didn't do anything to reclaim Earth, and whatever Borg are there now," Jean-Luc replied.
"I won't go without you Jean-Luc," Beverly countered.
"Then I guess it's settled. Anyways if we fail again I'll need someone to fake their own death again and save us," Picard joked.
"You know if you go back they'll just assimilate you again," Beverly replied.
"I would rather die than go through that again. Needless to say I won't let them. They only want me because the… the Borg Queen wanted me as her… counterpart. Not a very appealing thought to me," Jean-Luc joked.
"Now there's another? How many people are attracted to you know? A million?" Beverly joked back.
"Ah not a million, just 127 women as I count," Jean-Luc laughed as the Borg in front of the two of them woke up.
"Where am I?" the Borg shouted out interrupting the conversation.
"It's ok, you're on the Enterprise Ensign, find Data in the transporter room, he'll explain everything," Beverly said calming the woman down. She smiled at the success. The Ensign nodded and walked out of the room.
"Is it really that easy?" Picard asked.
"Oh god no," Beverly replied, "Depends on the person, one took me hours before working."
"Ah. And is the treatment just a way to block the Borg side of them?" Jean-Luc asked.
"Yes," Beverly simply answered. The two of them remained silent, but they also gathered Borg and tried treating them, though it only worked a good dozen times after about a hundred of them.
Meanwhile back at the planet, Riker was explaining what had happened to Troi, as she tried her own variation of the treatment, though it took a lot longer.
"You sure I can't do much else to help?" Riker asked.
"You are already applying the hyperspray, and doing the initial shutdown before treating, but I guess you could also help by keeping me distracted," Deanna replied smiling working on a Borg.
"Distracted why?" Will Riker asked.
"Just so I don't get too enveloped in this, and so I can relax. Most of the failures is because I am really stressed Will," Deanna replied looking up for a second, before returning to the Borg.
"Ah I see, so you want me to relieve your stress? Works for me," Will replied grinning ear to ear, "So how has life on Arcturus treating you?" Will walked over and stood next to her.
"Oh splendid, though every day I missed all of you," Deanna replied, "I kept wondering what happened, and after a week, I thought you all died, or were assimilated."
"I understand, while on the ship I thought you and the others were getting assimilated as we came back on the ship. Knew it wouldn't be worth the risk to try to come down, since it had already been awhile before we could," Will replied, "Oh you missed a button." He reached over and pressed a button on the eye piece she was working on getting off, "Would've pulled out his eye."
"Sorry Will," Deanna sighed, "At least we know of a place safe from the Borg, and if I modify the cloaking devices we found I know we can hide from the Borg if they try to attack."
"Hey now, you don't think we aren't going to try again?" Will asked.
"Of course you will, since I know you and the captain won't ever give up," Deanna replied smiling once more.
"And if we fail we can always try again, or at least we would know we tried our best," Will replied.
"I want to come with you this time," Deanna stated.
"Wait… what? What made you change your mind?" Riker asked.
"Everything. The few weeks thinking you were dead, or as good as dead was hell, I don't think I could do that again," Deanna answered.
"You won't have to, you can always come if you want," Will replied, "But it would be extremely dangerous."
"I know," Deanna replied.
"So you really missed me?" Will asked smugly.
"Of course you're my friend," Deanna replied nearly laughing at the stupid question.
"You know I would miss you too something happened to you?" Will asked.
"Well yeah, of course you would," Deanna answered scanning the head of the Borg, or Ensign in front of her.
"Good," Will said, "So who's the lucky Borg this time around?"
"Wesley," Deanna replied simply.
"Crusher? Wow, it's kind of hard to tell when he's like this. Just wait until Beverly hears you almost pulled his eye out," Will joked.
"Don't tell her," Deanna replied playfully hitting his arm.
"Hey now I'm going to have to write you up for assault on a commanding officer," Will joked.
"Come on Will," Deanna said with her wide smile making her even better.
"Sorry, just having a little fun," Will replied.
"You know when you were gone, I thought I wouldn't ever see you again, and I came to realize something," Deanna said randomly out of nowhere.
"And what was that?" Will inquired.
"That…" Deanna said hesitating, "That I… I never got to tell you, that… That I wished I came with you all, and died with you."
"Really? That's it?" Will asked a bit let down, "I realized I never should have put my job before you. I still would've been able to be a first officer, but before this incident I never advanced."
"Oh you know as well I do that you are merely waiting for the Enterprise, and if you hadn't put your career first, you would be a Borg on Earth, or some place across the galaxy on a Borg cube by now," Deanna replied, "So it was a good thing."
"Ugh… what happened?" Wesley said sitting up.
"It's ok, just relax, you're safe now Wesley. Will could you escort Wesley over to the briefing tent and then bring me another?" Deanna said, "Wesley don't worry, your mom will be happy when she hears about you."
"Data to Troi," Data's voice came.
"Troi here," Deanna replied as Will left the tent with Wesley.
"The crew up here are all ready to go, or the doctor was unable to humanize them," Data said.
"Ok, beam up all of the people in the briefing tent and send the Borg Beverly was unable to humanize down here," Deanna replied.
(Ok Everyone, sorry for the wait, I had exams and such. I believe there will be only one more chapter, maybe two at the most. Thank you for reading!)