Meeting 5 of 8

Posted on Sun Aug 29th, 2021 @ 12:37am by Five of Eight & Major Ashley Rogers

2,704 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Chapter V: The Calm Before The Storm
Location: Brig
Timeline: 238702.23

Five of Eight was plugged into its makeshift alcove as usual. Not a lot had happened since its arrival aboard the vessel.

Five of Eight was alone for the first time since it had first been as a child assimilated. It was aware of the fact that its former self was trying to reassert itself over the Borg reprogramming. It was also acutely aware that it was unlike everyone else it encountered as it was missing an arm and an eye and was more robot than it was Species 5618.

Major Ashley Rogers has seen a lot in her time, but a Borg drone in an alcove up close was one of those things she was grateful to not have a lot of experience with. She couldn't help but stare and idly wondered if the drone, who has a designation of Five of Eight, realizes she's staring. "Sorry, I'm staring..." she said out loud. "I'm not sure if I'm disturbing you... waking you up... but I'm Major Ashley Rogers, the XO of the Ourainavassa."

Five of Eight awoke without much warning and stepped out of its alcove suddenly. Five of Eight studied the Species 5618 female.

"Five of Eight, Secondary Maintenance Drone of Submatrix 48 of Trimatrix 16," it stated in a monotone tone of voice "Five of Eight will suffice," it added.

Ash was startled at how quickly the drone came to life and took a few steps back, "Hello, Five of Eight.... you caught me off guard a bit..." She then pulled out her tricorder to take some readings of the drone, making sure he was definitely still disconnected from the Collective and not otherwise sending out signals. "So... Maintenance Drone, eh? How did you end up with that job?," Ash asked, awkwardly making small talk.

Five of Eight studied the Species 5618 female "It is a role that is assigned to us, as drones cease to function their place is thus assigned to a new drone. The previous Five of Eight, Secondary Maintenance Drone of Submatrix 48 of Trimatrix 16 was killed approximately 3.5 hours before we emerged from our chamber and we were remade to replace it," Five of Eight informed the Species 5618 female.

"Emerged from your chamber?" Ash asked. "How old were you?"

"This unit was assimilated aged 6 in 2357, it was placed inside of a Borg Maturation chamber, it emerged a fully mature member of Species 5618 seventeen cycles later in 2362," Five of Eight replied.

She was taken a little aback, "Six? Do you have any memories of your life before you were assimilated?"

"All memories prior to assimilation were processed and purged as of no relevance to the Collective," Five of Eight replied.

"You were just a kid..." Ash said. "You never had a chance to grow up. And you don't even remember the good parts of your life..." She decided to be bold and put a supportive hand on the drones shoulder, "For the first time in your life, you have the power to choose your own path... what are your plans now? I know it can be a little overwhelming to start fresh, but what are you thinking?"

"We do not know, it is strange being cut off from the Hive, it is confusing," Five of Eight replied.

It was still speaking as if it was Borg but that was because it struggled with the concept of being an individual and not part of the collective.

Ash nodded, "Oddly I can relate. I've been 'cut off from the Hive' in quite a few different ways over the years. Sometimes it was my choice... most times it wasn't. It's easy to feel lost without purpose and direction. What do you want to do? If we were to walk out of this brig right now... what would be the first thing you do?"

"Get rid of this," Five of Eight replied indicating to the exoplate armour encasing its body "Then learn to be human again," it added.

Ash smiled, "We have one of the best doctors I've ever worked with on board... and another that swears he's the best doctor in the quadrant. That part might be the easy part..." She thought back to missions she went on with the Section... while she wasn't a Borg, the shock of taking off the body armor and being expected to be normal again after eliminating targets was something that she can only imagine being exponentially worse for a guy that's been a drone his entire life. "What are you looking forward to the most about humanity?"

"The freedom to choose what we do or do not, not having to do as something tells me to do, not having trillions of voices inside my head," Five of Eight replied "Not seeing everything through this," it added gesturing to the eyepiece that covered over what had once been its right eye.

Ash nodded knowingly. "I think we are all chasing that. It's why I walked away from Starfleet and ended up here. There'll always be rules and orders and structure, so I hope you won't be too disappointed."

Five of Eight studied her for a few moments "We will adapt and make do as best we can," it informed her.

Five of Eight stood there studying the prosthesis attached to its left arm it was still functional, like the rest of the bits of it that were Borg somehow the Borg components seemed to no longer feel part of Five of Eight they were an abomination.

Ash watched as Five of Eight look at his own arm... or at least the Borg version of his arm, the look on his face similar to one she's seen more than a few times in the mirror. "The Borg will always be a part of you though. We can probably remove the bits and pieces and get you pretty close to being human, but..." she taps the side of her own head, "It's what's up here that's going to either eat you up inside for the rest of your life... or you adapt and accept that part of you will always be with you. And you use those memories and those skills for your own purposes. I may not be Borg, friend... but I speak from experience."

Five of Eight studied her for a few moments "I am sure i will be able to adapt, I've managed to cope without the Hive so far, it will be a challenge but one i am sure i can overcome," it told Ash.

"You don't have to do it alone," she said. "It took me a long time to realize that. And sometimes I still struggle with remembering that. We may not be a hive, but we do take care of each other. So... do you eat or drink? If you do, I'd like to buy you a meal."

"I require no such sustenance, the alcove will be sufficient for my needs, eating is pointless however once I am no longer as I am i would like to be as 'normal' as possible and eating will be part of that process," Five of Eight replied "Perhaps then," he added.

Ash smiled, "When you're ready, that first meal and drink is on me. And if you're not up for company when that happens, just tell Renee, our chef that it's on my tab. She'd probably do it anyways...." She then extended a hand, "Welcome aboard Five of Eight. Can I call you Five?"

"You may, we will dine together when this is over," Five told her "It has been too long since i did anything with anyone in a 'normal' way," it added.

Ash actually chuckled, "Well, the abnormal is normal around here. You do realize you're not beholden to the designation the Borg gave you, right? You can go back to your original name before assimilation... you can choose another... the universe is full of infinite options."

Five of Eight looked at Ash "We have long forgotten our original designation and we have gone by the Borg designation for such a long time we prefer to keep our designation," Five of Eight told Ash.

"Fair enough, Five. I think you're going to like it here," she said.

"How did a Species 5618 female come to be part of the crew of a Species 3783 vessel?" Five of Eight inquired.

Ash chuckled nervously, "That's a bit of a long story... I was a Starfleet officer. Not particularly a good one, depending on who you asked. I was recruited straight out of the Academy by Section 31. Something about me was worth grooming into an assassin. Now that I was very good at. But those skills and those missions were not particularly useful in or approved of by Starfleet. I have a pretty large body count to my name. I've spent time as a POW, then spent more time in a Federation prison for treason. The latter was the Section turning its back on me. I was given a second chance. But I didn't know what to do with it. It was hard to reconcile who I thought I was and the person I actually am. And quite frankly to this day, I still have no idea who I am. I tried being a good Starfleet officer. I tried being a good fiance. It didn't work, the part of me that made me a good assassin couldn't coexist with that life. So... depending on who you ask... I took the coward's way out. I resigned my commission and left Renee to become a mercenary out here. And yes, Renee... the chef that's on board... that Renee is my ex. Raven recruited me to join her crew. And... here we are. So, Five... I may not have been a Borg, but i know what it's like to try to figure out who you are after being told who you are by someone else. It's messy and confusing and may not always work out, but ultimately.... it's your life to live. You may not always be with Ourainavassa but I hope that we can help you find out who you really are."

"At least you know who you are and where you came from and where you've been, me all i remember is being 6 years old on my father's ship when the Borg boarded, next thing i know i'm a drone, i'm missing an arm and an eye. With no recollection of how i came to be where i was, or what happened to sever my link to the Hive Mind, not that i care about that part. I have no clue how many innocent men, women, and children i turned into Borg, how many civilizations i helped ruin, all i know is i was Borg for 25 years," Five told Ashley.

"Here's a philosophical question for you... is it better to know exactly what death and destruction you've caused by your own autonomous actions? Or is there some comfort in knowing that as a drone, you didn't have a choice and by extension, you, as an individual are not a terrible person?" Ash looked Five in the eye.

"You have a valid point, not knowing what horrors i unleashed makes it easier to live with," Five conceded.

"Our pasts give us perspective. And no one will be as hard on us as ourselves. You have a fresh start here. The Five that is in front of me now, is not the one that was a drone. Even with the Borg enhancements, you are a drastically different individual. Never forget that," she pointed out.

"True," Five agreed "Has your Captain decided what he wishes to do with me, or is he still mulling it over?" Five enquired.

"She will likely leave it up to you. It's part of why I'm down here. I want to find what you're interested in doing. We not going to give you a designation without consulting you," Ash explained.

"I intend to remain aboard, I've nowhere else to go, I do NOT wish to return to the Collective, as my dad is dead," Five replied.

Ash raised her hands up disarming, "Whoa whoa whoa.... no one is sending you back. You're with us now. I was asking what you wanted to do here. This is your new Collective for as long as you want to stay." She then furrowed her brow at what else Five said, "Tell me about your dad..."

"He was a starship captain, travelling through the Alpha and the Beta Quadrants, when mum died he took me with him, we were in the Beta Quadrant running a mission for Starfleet when we were attacked by the Borg," Five informed Ash.

"Ever thought about following his footsteps and joining Starfleet?" Ash asked. "I have my biases but it's an option for you."

"No, my father was like you anti-Starfleet, something to do with an unpaid debt," Five replied.

Ash chuckled softly, "I can understand that... especially now.. Mars changed things. Their sanctimony is now combined with paranoia. I'm glad I'm not there. And I'm sure your father will be proud of you, no matter what you choose to do.:

"I doubt it was relevant to the Collective, but the three times i recall where the Borg vessel i was on assimilated anyone tied to the Federation i for a brief moment or two before the Hive Mind purged the emotion felt pleasure in assimilating those of the Federation," Five told Ash "Borg drones do have but don't feel emotions as the Hive Mind purges such feelings," it added.

Ash felt a twinge of understanding, she felt similar emotions whenever she had the opportunity to do what she does best. "So does that mean you're incapable of experiencing emotions? Or will that depend on how much of the Borg hardware we can remove?" Emotions are hard enough without having their development stunted for decades...

"We can feel emotions, the Vinculum all drones on a vessel are linked to filters thoughts and reactions from all drones at all times and those not relevant to the Collective are erased, Borg implants or no implants we can feel emotions," Five informed her "When one is enslaved to the Hive one has no control over one's actions, trillions of avoices filling your mind crushes who you were before assimilation," it added.

"What about now? You're no longer attached to the Collective...how are you feeling? And before you declare that feelings are irrelevant, how you feel is relevant to me as the XO of this ship, welcoming aboard a new crewmember," Ash said.

"Emotions are relevant, they are what makes people different to the Borg, and right now i feel relieved that i'm not part of the Collective," Five replied.

Ash smiled at that sentiment, "And I am as well. So, what are you interested in doing? We have different options on board and you are more than welcome to try different roles out until you find one that you're comfortable with."

"I am not sure, I'd rather wait until all this is removed before i make any decisions," Five replied indicating to what was Borg and not human.

"Fair enough. And no rush. Do you have the procedures scheduled yet with our doctors?" Ash asked.

Five of Eight looked at Ash "No, i have not been told what is to happen next before now, or when it will happen," it replied.

"When you feel up to it, I'll take you to the Medbay and introduce you to our doctors," Ash then smirked, "Well, one will introduce himself to you without prompting."

Five of Eight ran an internal diagnostic scan to determine how much more regenerating it required to be fully functional and ready for what came next "We require another 96 minutes of regeneration time, then we'll be ready to meet the doctor(s)," it stated to Ash.

"Oh! I interrupted your regeneration. I should let you get back to that," Ash said, clearly apologetic

"No need to apologize, we are used to interruptions," Five of Eight assured Ash.

Five of Eight returned to its alcove and plugged into it, and it powered down to standby mode.

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