This remark enraged the proud human-girl so much, that she grabbed a knife from the table and attacked the Borg. Seven was older, but wiser and stronger. She broke Amelia's wrist in one move. The knife fell out her broken hand, but she continued the attack on the hated woman. Seven of Nine fought cold head, so she dislocated Amelia's other shoulder, and gave her a slap, that the young woman almost flew away.

"Is it enough?" she asked the panting younger one in cold voice.

Amelia felt humiliated. Nobody helped her, just silently watched their fight. Even her parents looked away.

"How do you dare to attack a human, whose parents helped you a lot?" she hissed with tears in her eyes.

"Your parents never helped me. They just used me, as they liked, and abandoned at the first opportunity. Like dirtied rug."

"You lie!" Amelia cried, and didn't noticed her parents pale faces.

"Then, experience it yourself!" Seven said, and Amelia suddenly felt two cold spot on her neck.

She knew at that moment: she had been assimilated. Amelia wanted to protest, but it didn't hurt. It was like a peaceful repose. She didn't even understand, why her parents, Peter, and Counselor Troi tried to stop the process. Nothing hurt. For a while. A few minutes late, all the memories of Seven of Nine overwhelmed her brain. The emotional pain was terrible. Worse than any physical pain, even though she spent half her childhood at the doctors, waiting for a bone graft.

The voices were the worst. Lot of voices. Dead people's voices. A boy's voice, and a little girl's voice. "Mommy." They both died. Amelia's heart almost broke. She didn't even know that Borg had emotions. Stronger, than an average human's. The suffering came upon her with a terrible force.

"Get out of me these things, now!" she screamed, as Seven of Nine withdraw from their connection.

"It is impossible" she answered.

Amelia's assimilator turned away from her, coldly. But not even a single people went her to ask how she was, or help her standing up, or offering her to go to the sickbay. Only one human, the returning Zimt show any concern toward her.

"What's happened?" she asked.

But asking was pointless. She saw the two holes on the neck of the young woman, her skin started to discolor to grey, spotted one from the normal pink. Some Borg organelle began to surface on her body all over. Amelia Janeway became Borg.

"Why did you do that?" Zimt asked Seven angrily.

The Commander didn't answered.

"Computer, save the camera's recordings, authorization Zimt, delta 5!"

"There's no meaning..." Deanna protested, but she had to accept that the young doctor was legitimately angry. She had every right to save the recordings of the happenings of her patient's room.

"I asked you, didn't I" Zimt said calmly. "Why weren't you able to take care of her?" she asked the Counselor, but she stepped to Seven, and hugged her.

"She attacked me" the Commander gave an answer to the young doctor. She always felt weak, when Zimt hugged her.

"And therefore she had to be assimilated?"

Seven didn't tell more, so Zimt turned to the new patient.

"Bring her to the sickbay!" she asked the others. "Her shoulder needs a doctor's attention!"

Nobody moved. Deanna Troi and Peter Beckett were clearly afraid of the Borg, the Janeway couple were still shocked by the behavior of their former friend and their daughter. They were aware of the hardships, Amelia would experience in the not so distant future.

Zimt had to call the sickbay through her commbadge. The nurses quickly came, and brought the new drone to the medical department, and asked the shocked others to follow them to the sickbay. Seven and Zimt stayed alone.

"Why?" Zimt asked again.

"I have participated in the assimilation of thousands of beings. One more or less, it doesn't matter anymore" she answered in gray voice.

Amelia Janeway were laying on a biobed. Dr. Crusher examined her, but her examination was very slow.

"When could you remove all of this Borg circus from my body?" she asked the doctor impatiently. She wanted to get over this unpleasant experience.

"Unfortunately, I can't remove most of the Borg modifications" Beverly sighed, at the end of the examination. She was used to communicating fatal diagnoses to her patients, but this promised to be particularly difficult.

"What?" Amelia cried outraged. She always thought the the Borg modifications were intentionally chosen by the drones. "What is it that cannot be removed?"

"The Commander injected the nanoprobes to your brain, skull, and spinal-cord. Most of the Borg organelles were developed there. Those are not removable without hurting your vital life functions. I am sorry, but you have to stay as a Borg drone. It is more safe, than removing the modifications."

Jean-Luc Picard half an hour later arrived to the sickbay. There was peace and silence, but Beverly looked exhausted.

"How are the patients?" he asked, but his instincts told him, that the situation is not positive.

"Our new drone was very upset. She got sedative, because she became furious, as she knew that she had to live the rest of her life, like this. Her parents were crying, so they also got their share. Dr. Beckett is in his quarters. He doesn't want to see his fiancé anymore. Deanna is also in her quarters, but she is sleeping now."

"She also got sedative?"

Beverly nodded.

"Her nerves are especially sensitive. Moreover, she blames herself for what happened."

"She is right. Dr. Zimt protested against the whole visiting thing."

Beverly couldn't say anything. She also saw the recordings from the Commander's office. If she had been in the Commander's place, she would have cut the tubules into the young girl's neck earlier.

"Seven of Nine?"

"She is also sleeping, Dr. Zimt gave her a dose of sedative…"

"You've been handing out the sedatives generously these days" Jean-Luc smiled to the tired doctor.

"Oh, yes" Beverly smiled. "The Commander couldn't sleep without medication, so Dr. Zimt gave her a lot."

"It is hard to live as Borg among humans" agreed the Captain.

"It is really hard?" she asked, and looked serious.

"It is harder, than anyone could think!" the Captain replied, in a bitter voice.

Beverly leaned towards him to soothe him, and their lips finally softly met.