One of Seven (My attempt at writing)

ColinJeremy (One of Seven)


Commencement was now 24 hours old. Jeremy drifted in and out of consciousness. It seems the after party ran long into the night and into the next day. It never seemed to fail; someone will invariably bring Romulan Ale, a personal favorite of Jeremy’s. The newly decorated Ensign forced himself to rise and shine. Duty roster postings would be going up any minute and he was eager to learn what ship he had been assigned. As his vision cleared he realized he was not alone. He couldn't remember anything after the dancing ceased the night before.

He rose quickly, searching for his uniform. As he searched the lump in bed started to stir.

“Good Morning sweetheart.” the lump spoke.

“Sweetheart?” Jeremy choked. “Did we….?”

“Several times” the lump lifted the covers.

Jeremy frantically began searching for an out and made his way to the bathroom. He turned on the sonic shower and stepped inside. Memories started flooding back of the previous night’s entanglement with Colin, “did we really do that?” Jeremy shouted to the other room.

“Oh My God” Jeremy shouted. “Computer? Time?”…no response.

“It’s 08:30” Colin stated. “Move that ass of yours.” Colin stepped into the shower with Jeremy. Jeremy fidgeted past Colin and dashed to get dressed….

The drunken haze had finally cleared as Jeremy and Colin strolled out of the Junior Officers quarters and headed to the posting screens in the commons of Starfleet Academy. Jeremy was worried that he and Colin would be assigned different starships. He was, in fact falling for his friend. Both had taken similar paths in the academy Colin had gone science as was his want and Jeremy was adept at science. They had met 6 months ago in a common astrophysics final preparation class and were assigned to be lab partners for the duration. They had studied long and hard to earn their commissions and until the last few weeks had kept their relationship scholastic and skipped romance until the end of the class approached. Their first romantic encounter was explosive and from that moment on they were always together in class and out. Colin grabbed Jeremy by the arm and stopped them short.

“I need you to know something” he said softly. “I have fallen for you and want you to know that no matter where we are assigned I will love you forever.”

“Colin” Jeremy Whispered, “Ditto”. For he knew the young Betazoid could feel his emotions.

They continued on to the commons where Starfleet personnel were scattered everywhere. The guys approached the nearest screen and stood staring at it, afraid to touch it. Colin went first…

He touched the screen and entered his commission number. Instantly the screen lit up; his identification, ship designation and pertinent information flashed on the screen. Fairchild, Colin: ID# 7567891A, U.S.S. Green Bow, Medium Cruiser, Scientific Refit. He stood frozen in place. “What a bucket! This can’t be right…” He sighed and stepped back. “Your turn” he said softly to Jeremy.

Jeremy felt terrible for Colin. He hesitated then touched the screen and entered his commission number. The screen lit up the same as it did for Colin. Cross, Jeremy: ID# 7567520F, U.S.S. Green Bow, Medium Cruiser, Scientific Refit. His face brightened as he reached back for Colin and pulled him to the screen.

Colin just stared at the screen. “Well there is that.” He said his mood lightening. He stepped back tapped his com badge and stated securely, “Ensign Fairchild to Green Bow, reporting orders please.”

“U.S.S. Green Bow. Good to hear from you Mr. Fairchild. You are expected aboard at 1300 hours. Please report to the bridge at that time. Green Bow out.”

Colin turned to Jeremy. “Now you contact them”.

Jeremy tapped his com badge, “Ensign Frost to Green Bow, reporting orders please.”

“U.S.S. Green Bow. Good to hear from you Mr. Frost. You are expected aboard at 1300 hours. Please report to the bridge at that time. Green Bow out.”

Jeremy stepped toward Colin. “We both are reporting to the bridge? That is not a common order.”

“The Green Bow is not common starship it seems…” Colin replied as he grabbed Jeremy’s arm and tugged him away from the commons. “What are we going to do with our time until then? We have about 4 hours.” He asked with a sweet not-so-innocent look on his face.

“Can you think of nothing else???” Jeremy asked as he began to run towards the Junior Officers Quarters. The race was on…

The doors of the turbo lift whooshed open and the two men caught the first glimpse of their new bridge. For a ship that was centuries old this bridge didn’t resemble the first designs in any way. It was completely updated and reconfigured. The stepped off the turbo lift and were met by the Captain himself.

“Boy am I glad to see you two!” He exclaimed. “Welcome aboard, I am Captain Terence Richards. This is the completely redesigned Miranda Class cruiser. She has been refit for science and long term exploration. We have a very small crew compliment of 150. Our weapon systems and warp engines are top of the line redesigns built specifically for this ship. Please join me in my ready room after you have had a look around.”

Jeremy approached the con then walked over to one of the three science stations. Glancing quickly at the screens he moved towards operations and then tactical. The redesign of this bridge was very similar to that of a Galaxy Class Starship only slightly smaller. The controls and computer screens were of a new design, a design he was not quite familiar with and had only seen at the academy by accident. He and Colin had ducked into one of the new simulators for a quick make out and realized they were in a simulator not used by cadets yet. Colin had been looking around the bridge as well and come across the same conclusion at the same time Jeremy did. They looked at one another and crossed to the Captains ready room.

“Ensign Frost” the Captain started. “You have been highly recommended to me by one of your former commanders at the academy. You are promoted to Lt. Commander and are now my First Officer. Forget what you thought you came here for. Your first order is to greet the oncoming bridge officers and help them familiarize themselves with the new bridge. They will be here in 2 hours and since you have never seen this bridge before you’d better learn fast…”
“But Captain…”Jeremy interrupted.

“No buts get to work!” Captain Richards barked back. “Situation report is due in 2 ½ hours.”

“Yes Sir!” Jeremy exclaimed and exited back to the bridge.
“Mr. Fairchild you also came highly recommended by the same commanding officer who recommended Frost. It seems you two are inseparable. Anything I should know, Ensign?” he paused for answer.
“Uh…nnno sir.” Colin stammered.

“Not what I hear. If I understand these reports clearly you and Mr. Frost are involved in a romantic relationship. Says here you were caught unknowingly inside one of the new simulators…yes Ensign we have eyes everywhere. To that end it was recommended that we keep you two together. Seems it may be good for your moral and I might get some work out of the two of you.” He smiled, “Oh yeah Lt. Commander you’d better get out there and assist your buddy this ship launches in 4 hours”

“Thank you sir, we’ll be ready and launch on time.” Colin stated as he turned and exited to the bridge.

Jeremy was already fiercely attacking the command center at his seat (Next to the big chair) as Colin approached. He had got the hang of the new interface in a few minutes and was furiously prepping the rest of the stations. The starship was already mostly powered. The Warp Nacelles were not. He inquired of the computer, “Computer, ship crew status.”

“There are 40 crew members aboard the U.S.S Green Bow.” The computer responded.

“Display crew manifest on main view screen Highlighting engineering team.” Jeremy requested. The main view screen lit up and began to display a list of names in each department. The engineering department list brightened.
Jeremy tapped his com badge, “Bridge to Chief Anderson”.

There was a pause…”Anderson here.”

“Chief I need a situation report in half an hour” stated Jeremy.

“I can give you one right now Lt. Commander”, replied the chief. “The Green Bow will be ready to launch in one hour. Bringing warp nacelles online now, sir.” And with that the whir of the engines took over and the power grid highlighted on the con.

“Thanks Chief impeccable timing! Bridge out.” Jeremy stated.

The turbo lift doors opened and a young Vulcan woman stepped on to the bridge. “S’Pan reporting for duty” she stated.

Glancing at the view screen for clues as to who this young Vulcan was, Jeremy stood up and crossed to greet her. “Welcome aboard please find your station and I will assist you with your identity marking, Ensign”.
This went on for another 2 hours until the bridge was completely staffed. The new crew had familiarized themselves with the new consoles and turbo lift doors opened for the last time before launch.

“Chief Anderson!” Colin exclaimed. He had known the chief at the academy but had seen very little of him due to the secret nature of the chiefs education. ”I had no idea you were the chief of this ship. I am so glad! And now I understand why we saw little of you at the academy.”

“I spent most of my time in the engine room below, sir. I was responsible for the refit of the ship.” It seemed like the markings down either side of the chiefs face glowed for a moment.

“Let me introduce you to Lt. Commander Frost and our new Executive Officer” Colin stated.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you in person, Chief.” Jeremy stated.

“Charmed.” Said the chief; not bothering to hide his distaste for the new XO.

“Number 1 please join me in my ready room”, the captains voice piped over the com.

“On my way, sir” replied Jeremy…

As I entered the captains ready room I instantly noted the dim lights. The captain was staring out the window, a cup of coffee in one hand and a padd in the other.I could see his reflection in the port window and even in the dim light noticed his swollen eyes and wet cheeks.

"Captain?"

"Ah Number 1..." the captain said choking back a sob. He tossed the padd in my direction. "My family is lost." he began to sob.

I quickly lifted the padd and began to read. I didn't know the captain at all nor did I know of his family. According to the text on the padd a small m-class planet called Dreydan had been assimilated. His family, now part of the Borg Collective. My eyes began to water and tears streamed down my face. I approached the captain not sure what to say or do.

"Situation Report, Number One."

"Sir, the ship is ready for departure on your orders."

"It's time we get the hell out of here and do our jobs, Number One"

"Aye Sir"

I handed the padd back to the captain and placed a hand on his shoulder. He nodded and I exited to the bridge.

The bridge was silent. Colin rushed over, sensing the waves of emotion that had passed between me and the captain. I steadied myself and settled into the big chair. "Helm set course for Drayden....maximum warp! Chief can I see you and Mr. Frost in the conference room please."

We entered the conference room silently. Colin had a distressed look on his face. "Sit down gentlemen." The chief, who had previously met me with disdain, had a calm and peaceful look on his face. "The Captain has briefed me on a troubling issue we must now figure out how to rectify. Drayden has been assimilated by the Borg. This includes the Captains family. I am in command of this vessel until we arrive..."

The sound of Red Alert rand through the ship. "unauthorized phaser fire on deck 1".

"Computer! Exact location of the phaser fire!"

"Unauthorized Phaser fire in the Captains ready room."

"Colin attend to the Captain report back to me immediately."

Colin rushed out. "Mr. Anderson...for some reason you don't like me very much. I am not sure why and right now I don't give a damn. I need to know everything there is to know about this ship and now. I have not had a chance to learn everything yet. Please give me the run down.Our lives depend on it".

"Sir, I don't like you. Not even a little bit. Colin and I were friends for a very long time,in fact we were...."

"Lovers" I interrupted.

"Yes. I have not got completely over him yet. That is neither here nor there at this moment." Colin burst into the room.

"There is nothing left of the Captain except a pile of ash. He shot him self point blank with the phaser on maximum stun. The beam was so hot that by time he turned to dust the phaser melted." With that he left the room.

"Ok chief, here it is. You have a job to do. I expect your best regardless of how you feel towards me. Can yo do that?"

"Aye sir.....Captain."

"Do we have the arsenal to fight the Borg in this ship?"

"Yes Sir. Phase modulating anti-proton beam arrays fore and aft and photons sir, of the like you have never seen before. Ablative shielding in addition to the phase variable, frequency rotating shields. These shields are special captain, rather than wrap around the ship 4 ways these shields wrap AND overlap 8."

"Good, I am counting on you Number One." I smiled a little as I said that. "To your station please and if you believe in god pray for us!"

As we approached Drayden I called for long range scans. Specifically I was looking for signs of other ships or any type of life. "One life sign,Sir, very faint". This is odd, there should have been something.

"Sir...Starfleet on coded channel."

"Put it through to my ready room."

I entered my ready room...My Ready Room. While I liked the sound of that I couldn't help but feel heavy and my thoughts switched to the captains last moments...

"Jeremy?"

"Admiral." This was the commandant of Starfleet academy. I was very close to him throughout my studies and wanted very much to make him proud of my accomplishments.

"I am sorry to have heard of the events with Captain Richards, he will be sorely missed Commander. How's the Crew holding up?"

"Well they seem to be doing okay but Colin can sense their despair both with the Captains loss and the mission, sir. Wait....Commander? I don't deserve that rank...yet."

"Well you didn't deserve the loss of your Captain. Or the instant responsibility of 149 other lives but there you are. Jeremy this mission is vital to Starfleet. You must go down to the planet surface. There is some intelligence there that Starfleet cannot let fall to the enemy, if it hasn't already...I am sending you coordinates for a cave located in the northern hemisphere. Find a computer console and download the contents, set charges and get out of there. Here is the encryption file you need for the download. The New Hampshire is on her way. When she arrives beam over to her and meet with Captain Arun. Give him the data. Beam back and return immediately to port."

"Aye Sir. Our initial scans show only one life sign and it is very faint. We are approaching the planet now. Frost Out."

Exiting to the bridge I started barking orders. "Number One you have the bridge. Colin you're with me. Lt. Hargrave go and get three phaser rifles and meet us in transporter room 1. Helm maintain standard orbit."

Colin and I entered the turbo lift. "deck 6".

We entered transporter room 1. I handed the coordinates to the ensign on duty. "Attempt to maintain transporter locks on the away team. Energize."

We found ourselves in a cave. Well not a cave really it was more like the hallway of a starship. I brought out my tricorder and started scanning. I found our faint life sign. It is not so faint and it is Borg.

"Frost to Anderson...silence..."

We started to make our way down the corridor. There was a sudden and abrupt shaking. "It seems this area is not very stable". We continued along the passage until we came across an opening. It was a large room full of various cargo containers and one solitary computer console. Colin was scanning as I set my tricorder on the console. "Sir, 3 Borg are headed this way." I quickly scouted the area. I saw a thin red laser line over in the corner. "Cover the entrance and try to get communications with the ship". I walked over to the corner and saw an injured Borg. This was not one of the planets inhabitants, that was clear. I raised my weapon but stopped short of firing. It had a strange look on its face. Not the typical I am going to assimilate you look. Sparks were flying out of its chest cavity. This one was about to die. I turned to look for Colin and felt a pain in my neck then I blacked out...

My mind was cluttered. All I could hear was noise. I tried concentrating trying desperately to pick out one recognizable sound. It was not there. My head hurt, instinctively I reached for my temple. It didn't feel like my temple at all...it was....metal! My senses starting returning except for all that damn noise in my head. Then I heard it. We are Borg. You Have been assimilated. Your designation is One of Seven. Your consciousness has been downloaded to the collective....then all went black again....

"He's in shock. We have to get him to sickbay immediately." Colin yelled.

"Calm down Fairchild, we are ready to go. We have to get out of this room. The shielding is blocking communications with the ship. Can we move him yet?"

"Yes I have stabilized for transport, help me pick him up."

Hargrave and Colin grabbed Jeremy and made for the corridor. Fortunately they had eliminated the three Borg that had beamed in while Jeremy was investigating the dying one in the corner. He had apparently, assimilated Jeremy and then expired. "Wait...the tricorder!" Colin ran back in the room grabbed the tricorder and ran back out. Once in the corridor they were able to contact the ship for transport.

"3 to beam directly to sickbay!"

They put Jeremy in a medical bed and contacted the bridge. We were unable to set up the charges can we destroy the facility from here Chief?

"Aye, these new Torpedos will drill down and take out the entire facility and anything for 200 meter's in diameter. Firing now."

Colin immediately started to work on Jeremy. The ships Doctor came in. Jeremy's skin had already begun to...well to putrify.

"Step aside Colin I will take care of Jeremy."

Colin headed for the door. He saw a force field go up around the Doctor and Jeremy. He knew the Doctor had extensive experience with Borg victims. As he glanced back for the last time he saw more devices tearing through Jeremy's skin.

It was dark, the voices, the noise seemed to be calming down. I could start to make out an order to the madness. I felt something approaching. Well not approaching as I couldn't really see but I felt a presence. Then I saw her. My mind lit up and there she was. Scary, beautiful, wicked and disgusting. She had me now. I sensed her thoughts her desires. She wanted something but I was unsure what. Then it became clear. She was looking for information...Starfleet, Starship, numbers...she wanted command codes. Well I was not about to give that up. She started screaming, or maybe it was whining. I couldn't be sure. I resisted her glare until she called me by name. "You are One of Seven, You are Borg. Your consciousness has been downloaded..."

I cut her off. "I am One of Seven, WE are Borg. Resistance is futile." I couldn't believe I just said that. The noise began again and she departed.

I opened my eyes. The bright lights of sickbay stung my eyes. My head was pounding. I reached for my temple...the device...it was still there...apparently it had not been a bad dream. I tried to get up and found I could not move. Everything went black...

WOW THAT WAS AWSOME!!!!!

Looks like I have some serious competition! Keep up the good work! I really want to read more!!!

Quote by Narciso

WOW THAT WAS AWSOME!!!!!

Looks like I have some serious competition! Keep up the good work! I really want to read more!!!

Thanks for your kind words...Competition? No not really. I am still waiting for more from you :whistle:

PS there is more to come. This is just the beginning :laugh:

The noise...it was almost unbearable. Intolerable was more like it. I couldn't stand it any longer...

Colin entered sick bay he looked withdrawn, tired. His eyes were swollen he couldn't sleep. He walked over to the bed and stared at Jeremy. The doctor had removed Jeremy's clothes draping a cloth over the young mans private region. His body was well developed. Not too skinny, the right amount of muscle tone. No fat. Colin looked up and down the bed re-memorizing every curve, every angle. Jeremy was his ideal man. He pulled up a stool and sat down weary from no sleep, constant worry. "Damn you!"

I opened my eyes and saw Colin sort of sitting, mostly propped up. He looked asleep, exhausted. His hair was disheveled and he had several days growth on his face. He must have sensed I was awake as he stirred, lifted his head and our eyes met. He began to cry. I tried desperately to sift through the noise in my mind, tried to speak his name but couldn't. Suddenly, I felt a pain in my right arm. I looked down and the skin started to move like something crawling just under the surface. I screamed in pain, only there was no scream, there was no pain. Colin sensed my trouble and yelled for the doctor. By the time the doctor got to my bed a thin wire had poked up and out of my arm. It began to coil itself around my arm slicing into my skin. Colin grabbed for the wire to attempt to stop its coiling. The doctor shoved him aside and began attacking the wire with a small laser tool. This didn't seem like any normal laser tool though the laser stream was kind of purple. It reminded me of a tiny polaron beam from one of the fleets newer starships. It seemed to be working as the wire loosened and then retreated back under my skin.

"Colin, you should leave until I call for you. This is going to take some time to fight off the implants that are trying to take over his body. You shouldn't see this...no one should."

"I am not leaving him! Not now, not ever! How can I help?"

"You can't help, please leave now! Security to sickbay"

Security entered the room and wrestled Colin to the floor. In the end they had to sedate him and carry him to his quarters. It was not pretty but I watched the whole thing. If ever I questioned our newly formed relationship, I would never question it again. The noise in my mind was growing again. I was able to 'tune' it to some extent however, when I did all I could hear was One of Seven repeated over and over again as if millions of people were searching for me, calling my name in unison. I fought with the noise and was able to master it, finally. The doctor came at me with a hypospray and I drifted off into blackness.

I opened my eyes to see the Chief staring back at me. "Captain, can you hear me?" he asked. "Yes I can" I managed to croak out. apparently I had been in and out of consciousness for several weeks so my voice was not quite up to snuff. I looked down the length of my body I was fully dressed in hospital greens. My temple itched. I reached up to scratch it and found a hard piece of metal wrapped around my eye socket. My left eye was out of focus. I blinked a few times and it cleared up. I looked back at the chief. "Colin? Where is he?" I asked. "He is beaming over from whats left of the Green Bow sir. He will be here any minute".

"What happened to the Green Bow"

"Sir how much do you remember?"

"I remember One of Seven."

"Sir?"

"Sorry chief, I was assimilated..."

"Yes Sir we know but we didn't think you were that far in."

"I was 'All In'" I smiled back at the chief.

"Sir, the Green Bow has been towed here by the Enterprise. We were engaging the Borg and nearly lost the ship. The Enterprise warped in and destroyed the sphere."

"Crew?"

Later I learned we lost nearly 100 crewmen to fire fallen hull structure and space. I sat up and actually I felt pretty good. A little stiff here and there but otherwise ok. "Doctor, when can I return to duty?"

You can go as soon as Colin arrives.

Colin and I walked towards the shuttle bay 45 on Utopia Planetia. I had been out of Sickbay for about 2 months waiting for decisions on our Starship. I had been in Physical and Mental therapy for the last 8 weeks and was itching to see what piece of crap I would be commanding. Chief Anderson and I had become fast friends during my recovery from assimilation and the 3 of us were pretty much inseparable. The Chief had resigned the post of number one in order to ready our new starship. He had refused to divulge any information regarding the vessel and was the only one of the three of us who new what ship we had been given. I had just returned from the Admirals office and was given my pips as Captain of my new vessel. Colin had been promoted all the up to commander. The chief? Well lets just say I was glad to have running my engine room. He had become a good friend and would prove to be an excellent officer in the years to come.

We were greeted by an ensign near the shuttle bay. "Sir,the Admiral forgot to give you your orders, here they are."

"Thanks Ensign" I replied.

We strolled into the duty officers office in the shuttle bay without looking at our orders. I was going to hold a staff meeting aboard prior to launch and wanted to wait and see what was in store for the crew.

"I need a shuttle to the U.S.S. ..." stammering I turned to Colin. "What our ship designation?" It completely escaped my mind. I had been having a few memory issues and was still working through some exercises to increase short term memory.

"Sir, it's the U.S.S. Phantom, sir" Colin replied

"Right this way Captain, we have your shuttle waiting to launch."

We passed by several shuttles on the walk to our own. Then I saw it. A Yellowstone Runabout. I couldn't wait to test it out, however we needed to get to the ship. I couldn't wait to see it. The Chief had been dropping little tidbits here and there about her upgrades but I had no idea what kind of ship she was.

"Colin take us out"

The shipyards were vast. Starships in various states of refit and redesign littered space. "Sir we will be on the Phantom in 5 minutes" Colin stated. He was an excellent pilot but his skills as a scientist were untouchable by any. Even the Vulcans in our graduating class couldn't keep up with him. I turned to him and asked what he wanted. More than anything.

"Just give me a seat at a console on the bridge." He replied.

"Well that is a given." I responded and put my hand on his shoulder.

And there it was the Intrepid class Bellerophon variant. It was a beautiful ship! Very sleek design.

That's when the noise started up again. It was overbearing. I lost equilibrium and all went black...

I HATE it when I come to the end! :angry: Thanks so much for a well written (what I HOPE is just the beginning) story. Very nice indeed, I am so impressed with all the writing talent we have in our group. I anxiously await the continuation of the story! ;)

Quote by ltervlet

I HATE it when I come to the end! :angry: Thanks so much for a well written (what I HOPE is just the beginning) story. Very nice indeed, I am so impressed with all the writing talent we have in our group. I anxiously await the continuation of the story! ;)

Thanks so much! Stay tuned more is on the way.

I woke to the sound of noise, it was different this time. Calming. I was able to make out pieces of the constant chatter. I hear a lot of numbers...7 of 7, 3 of 7, 2 of 7. After each number designation I would get a glimmer of data. 7 of 7 was reporting on the state of the shields. 3 of 7 and 2 of 7 were correcting an error in a plasma distributor. I was completely coherent now. I looked down at my body. It was encased in a metallic structure. I looked around. I was standing in an alcove...I was completely assimilated! I detached from the alcove and stepped onto the main causeway. I was in a Borg ship. The last thing I remembered was setting my eyes on the Phantom for the first time. And now here I was on a Borg ship. Something didn't make sense. I felt a surge of energy and a nearby plasma conduit exploded. The ship was under attack. A blue flash of energy surrounded me as I began to disappear. When I re-materialized I recognized the standard Federation transporter pad. There were people standing nearby. A young man in his late 20's was talking to me but I couldn't understand or hear him. There were about 10 armed Starfleet with various weapons pointed at me. Instinctively I raised my right arm and 2 thin wires protruded from the top of my hand. I was moving towards the young man that was talking to me. It seemed as though they wanted me to stop.

"We are Borg" was all I managed to get out before they started to fire on me. "Resistance is futile" I stated. Then all went black.

I woke up in a bio bed and had the strangest feeling of deja vu. As I glanced around the doctor approached. "Welcome back" he said.

"Where am I?" I asked

"You are aboard the Starhip Phantom, Captain" he replied. "And just in time too". He tapped his combadge and requested the commander to sick bay as the "patient" had woken up.

I looked around the room and at myself. I no longer was encased in metal. My head was pounding and I couldn't hear them. I started to panic and jumped off the bio bed. "This isn't right!" I stated as the doctor approached me with a hypospray. We were struggling when two men appeared in the doorway. "Captain!" one of them yelled and they rushed me. I struggled with the three men momentarily and the doctor landed the hypo spray. I started to relax. Feeling calm and peaceful. My head no longer hurt, except near my left eye. I put my hand up to my eye and felt the cool metal shape seemingly attached to my forehead and temple. I looked at the three men now hovering over me like flies and waved them away. "Colin! Your name is Colin" I stated. "Yes Captain, that is my name" he spoke through a broadening smile. "Chief?" I said as I looked at Anderson. "Jeremy!" they chanted simultaneously. I looked at the doctor. "Jeremy?" I asked. "That is not your name".

"No...I am the Emergency Medical Hologram". "Please state your name and rank."

"I am One of Seven, Captain of the Federation Starship Phantom"

"No, you are Jeremy Frost, Captain of the Federation Starship Phantom" the doctor stated and walked away.

I looked at Colin and the Chief. They looked at each other.

"Sir, can you state your current orders?"

"I am to take command of the starship Phantom and head to Romulan space and investigate several strange anomalies there."

"That is correct. What is your name?"

"I AM One of Seven"

"Captain to the bridge" the computer stated.

Colin looked at me and then the Chief. "You'd better go to the bridge. I will take the captain to his quarters and see if that gives him an inkling of who he is."

Colin escorted me to my quarters. "Enter your code Captain"

I reached up to the pad and entered 576912 and the doors slid open. The room looked very familiar. I crossed to the desk where there were at least fifteen data padd's waiting for my review. I could see a framed picture and reached for it. It was of me and Colin sitting in a cafe in San Francisco. The bay bridge was looming in the background. We were holding hands and drinking what looked to be coffee.

I looked over at Colin who was still standing in the door way. He entered and the door closed...

The dim lights of the room illuminated certain parts of the room with faint traces of color. These could be programmed at will and saved for various occasions. The bedroom section was illuminated in red as the two men slept soundly wrapped around each other.

I stirred and realized after the events of the previous night that neither of us had moved. We had slept soundly and apparently needed the sleep. I didn't recall any type of dream. I sat up looked about the room and recognized that this was indeed my new cabin. But who had the forethought to place my belongings in here. Colin, maybe. I got out of bed and entered the bathroom. While I was in the sonic shower Colin appeared and climbed in with me.

"We have to hurry or we will be late for Duty" he said softly.

"Right" I said.

We quickly dressed. Apparently we both had a closet. "Did you move in with me?" I asked impatiently. "I don't remember making this arrangement."

I was cut off by the com. "Commander Frost please come to sick bay."

"I believe my rank is Captain Doctor". I exclaimed.

Colin looked at me with a slight frown. "You don't remember do you?"

I sat down on the bed as he crossed to the desk, touched the drawer open and withdrew a padd. He tossed it to me smiling and said, "Gotta Go I am needed in sick bay". With that he disappeared into the corridor.

I held the padd for a few moments and then touched the screen. I selected the first item I saw. 'Testimony'. As I read through it I realized it was a transcript from a wedding. Further down I saw a photo and touched it. It was a video and opened up to the size of the screen. Music began to play and I saw various people dancing and recognized each one. Then I saw Colin and myself dancing together and photographers and videographers hovering around us. It was OUR wedding. I quickly searched my memory for anything that would trigger these events in my mind. Nothing. Then in the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of green text. I couldn't make it out. I tried to focus on it and it shaped into something like a file structure. I tried to move it with my mind to get it squarely in front of me so I could read it. There it was right in front of me now. I could make out the list of items. They read as follows:
Attack Systems
Defense Systems
Operations

I thought: Attack Systems. suddenly I could see weapons array listings, schematics and firing patterns. I dropped the padd and exited to the corridor. There was nobody around, it was quiet as I made my way to the turbo lift. "Deck One".

The doors of the lift opened and there was the bridge. Chief Anderson was sitting in the Captains chair and rose upon hearing the lift doors open. I stepped out of the lift and crossed the bridge in front of him. "Join me in my ready room."

"Chief. I am having memory recall problems. There seems to be a great deal of time that I have lost. For example the last thing I remember before coming aboard the Phantom was being assimilated for a short time and then waking up in Sick bay. Then there are the file systems in my head. I don't understand what is happening."

The chief went to the replicator and requested two coffees and motioned for me to sit down. He tapped his com badge and requested that Colin join us. While we waited for Colin he began his explanation:

"You were assimilated all right, but not for a short time. Sir, you were assimilated for more than a year." It took a great deal of effort and time to locate you and of course then there was the battle. You need to know that you, or the Borg you are responsible for the destruction of the Green Bow. While it was technically not destroyed the damage the Borg ship caused to the Green Bow rendered the ship useless EXCEPT for what was left. The main computer was intact when she was towed in. Of course the majority of the saucer was gone. The shielding systems and warp nacelles were in tact. The rest was basically a total loss."

Colin entered. He had a strange look on his face. He sat down in a chair opposite me the three of us formed a triangle. "I was just briefing the Captain on the destruction of the Green Bow."

"Utopia Planetia has amazing doctors for the recovery of individuals that have been assimilated. It took a very long time to bring you back, to bring back what we could. Part of the Borg implants destroyed several memory receptors in your brain. The loss of that, for lack of a better word, data, is tragic and we don't really know to what extent. We do know that you can recall everything prior to the assimilation but afterwards, after you were recovered and repaired those memories are gone. It seems that you are just now able to create new memories that will be saved. Additionally there are several implants that could not be removed. You may have seen the affects of those..."

I immediately cut him off, "Yes that explains the strange read outs I was seeing!"

"Readouts?"

"Yes, I have detailed specifications and parameters for the Borg ship I was on..."

The chief got up and ran over to the desk spun the console around and shouted "Priority to Admiral Quinn!"

The Admiral appeared on the screen. "Sir, the implants that could not be removed from Captain Frost have shown to contain data regarding Borg Ship systems...Admiral I think this is the break we have been looking for."

The Admiral responded with "Set course to ESD immediately. Captain Frost, You are relieved of duty until further notice!"

"Bridge, set course to Earth Space Doc Warp 9! Security, to the Captains ready room!" The Chief looked at me and then security as they walked in. "The Captain is confined to quarters until we arrive at ESD. Post guards at his door."

I was escorted gently to my quarters, Colin stayed behind with the Chief....

Voyage Home
We would arrive at ESD in about 5 hours. This gave me a quite a bit of time to try and figure out what had transpired over the last year. My left temple was a little itchy. I sat down at my desk and began looking through the various padds: Engineering reports, Medical reports, Crew reports. I dropped the last padd and opened up the top drawer of the desk. There was a small box, an envelope and other stuff you would find in a desk drawer. I took the envelope out and opened it. It contained another padd. I set the padd down and inspected the envelope. Turning it over there was the word Remember written on it. How Vulcan I thought. I set down the envelope and picked up the padd and touched the screen. A picture of the Golden Gate bridge lit up. I swiped through the pics casually; there were several pictures of Colin, me and various points of interest around San Francisco. A few pictures of us in various settings. We both looked extremely happy in all of the photos. I finally realized that in each photo of I had the implant wrapped around my left eye. Unconsciously I reached up and felt the cool metal object. I also noticed that the device was a different color in some photos than others and most of the photos it was the color it is now. Almost a flesh tone but slightly more yellow. My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door chime. "Enter" I stated quietly. It was the Chief and Colin.

"How are you feeling Captain?" The Chief asked.

"I'm fine. A little confused but I think I am beginning to recall some of the lost memories I had. It helps that someone placed this padd in an envelope with Remember written on it." With that a saw the slightest smile appear on Colin's face.

"I'd hoped it would help to trigger something, Jeremy" Colin stated. "Did you open the box?"

"I did not" I stated and opened the drawer pulling out the box. It was a black leather box adorned with gold trim and the initials C.F. and C.F-F. I opened the box and inside were two rings made of latinum. The shined in the dim light of my quarters. I removed one of the rings and inspected it. It was striking but also plain. I tried to fit it on my fingers and found that it didn't quite fit. A glint of light caught the inside of the band I looked closer and was able to make out 'to my one and only' in a delicate script. I looked at Colin. "I assume this fits your finger?" He came closer with out stretched hand. I took his hand and started to slide the ring on his finger. Suddenly with a flash of light the memories came. Images, much like those on the padd started flying past. I could see them all in great detail and in less than a nano second. Sights, sounds and even smells of all the places we visited on our honeymoon holiday flooded my mind, then the emotions came. I felt overloaded and passed out.

Colin quickly opened his tricorder and began scanning me. I started to come to, my vision blurry at first but quickly sharpened. Colin closed his tricorder. I pulled him to me and hugged him. Desperately holding on to him. After some time we separated. I got up and went to the replicator; "Darjeeling tea, hot" I stated. It appeared and I handed it to Colin. "2 coffee's, hot" I stated. They appeared and I handed one to the chief and motioned both to sit down. "Computer time to Earth Space Dock" I stated. "3 hours 42 minutes at present speed." it replied.

"Chief, what should I expect when we arrive at ESD? I have been relieved of command of my ship and I think I understand why. I would like to know if Starfleet, or the Admiral rather, have hostile intentions."

"Sir, you were relieved only temporarily. I think Quinn thinks you may be a valuable asset and wants to retrieve as much Borg data as he can from you. This will require some minor surgery to implant a port into your skull." replied the chief.

Colin spoke up. "It is a simple procedure but we are not sure how your body will react. We have had a hard time undoing the damage the Borg did to you. It's risky. However, the progress you have made in the last hour alone gives me hope"

I stood up and walked over to the desk. I picked up the black leather box. It was still open only this time a single ring was contained. I took the ring out and toyed with it for a few seconds. "That won't be necessary." I slid the ring on. "I have a port readily available. Chief find me a fiber cable with an interface to my console and leave the other end open." The Chief scrambled off to get what I required. I turned the console to face me; "Admiral Quinn private channel".

With the cable now attached to the console I sat down peering at the open end. I reached up and felt the edge of my implant attempting to locate a small opening. Once I found it I guided the cable to it and inserted it. "Bridge...All Stop." Admiral Quinn appeared on the console. Seeing the cable running from my implant disappearing from view he queried "Captain, what are you doing?" In a moment he began to see the data stream flowing on the side of his view screen. "Captain, change course and head to the Bellatrix Sector..." You are reinstated. "Contact me when you arrive..."

Keep it up mister! I love it! lol

I'll 2nd that one! :)

ORDERS
The journey to the Bellatrix sector was not particular eventful. It gave me plenty of time to review the crew orders, their recommendations, accommodations and that sort. I spent an hour here and there with Colin on the holodeck, worked on retrieving my memories. It all had come back. The 2 month journey had been slow as my current ship was not able to withstand the effects of the transwarp conduit. It seems the refit was mainly for weapons and shields. She was a sturdy ship though. We shook out the rough bits on the way to Bellatrix. One thing that was odd and I am not sure what this was all about was a bit of cargo we had onboard. It was sealed and could not be scanned. It was held in place by special force field devices. I ignored it as I assumed it had something to do with where we were headed.

I sat in my ready room re-reading the officer reports from the afternoon shift on the bridge. My console lit up showing a coded message from Admiral Quinn. I touched the screen and his face appeared.

"Captain, enter the Mutara Nebula. There you will find a defunct Borg sphere. There are several other federation ships there waiting for you. You will rendezvous with the USS Metamorphoses. Vice Admiral T'oi will send an away team to your ship and in the same transport sequence you will beam to the sphere. T'oi's team will collect the crated cargo while you are on the sphere. You must time the beaming sequences. Once you are aboard the sphere go to section 231 Bravo. You will retrieve a console and it will be beamed into your cargo hold where T'oi's away team will be waiting. They will place it in the container and you will beam back to your ship and Toi's team to his. Understood?"

"Aye, Sir. We are almost at Mutara now. Seven out." With that I tapped the screen disconnecting the transmission. I had not met T'oi or any of his crew but knew of their reputations. I had seen them, of course, on the starbase but no formal introductions had been made. I knew this to be an oversight on my part. "Bridge, enter the Mutara Nebula. No scans. Go to these coordinates and hold position. Chief Anderson meet me in transporter room 2. Colin you have the bridge."

The ship was holding at the designated coordinates. I had chose Transporter room 2 as it had port windows and I wanted to see if I could see the ship we were to rendezvous with. I had heard rumors of a new ship, a Vesta class, but had not yet seen one. They were a pretty well kept secret at this point and only officers that had a need to know, knew anything about them. There she was. What a magnificent ship. I wished that I could spend an hour aboard or even speak to her captain but orders were orders. I received a comm signal announcing the impending transport and stepped on to the pad. In a flash of white light I found myself on the sphere and set off to complete my task. I approached section 231B and quickly found what I was looking for. Good thing I had built in schematics! I tagged the console and stepped away. In a flash of white light it was gone. I had a couple more minutes before my transport so took a quick look around. I saw a faint red laser light about 10 yards away. I knew what it was. I was Borg after all. I was right it was in fact a borg. It's life signs were faint. The comm badge signal came through I reached down and grabbed the soon to be defunct borg and with a flash of white light was back on my ship.
"Security Transporter Room 2. Helm Warp 8 get us out of here!" I exclaimed. I thought to myself, good god what had I just done. I had picked up an enemy, transported him to my ship and fled like a bat outta hell. This was going to cost me. The security team arrived and saw the borg laying on the pad. "Transport this thing directly to sickbay, security team too! Doctor you have a new patient transporting in do what you can!" That said I headed to the bridge.

"Sir we are receiving several hails. Vice Admiral T'oi on secure channel and a Commander Geroff, sir? She is speaking in french and I am not sure I should relay that message."

"Send the Vice Admiral's channel to my ready room" I said and exited the bridge...

Vice Admiral T'oi had a lot of things on his mind, he needed this equipment, it was crucial. The timing was Borg-like. Appropriate considering the Captain of this vessel had been assimilated for over a year. T'oi could not help it, lately his emotions had been more intense, the stress of his personal situation now colored everything in his life. He discovered, much to his surprise he did not trust this situation, but orders were orders.

The operation proceeded flawlessly. At the appropriate moment he ordered secure contact with the vessel's Captain.

"Sir, the channel is open and the transmission has been routed to Captain Frost's Ready Room."

"Very good Lieutenant Commander, when this transmission is complete it is to be sealed at Ultraviolet level, you will source record it one time, sequester it from the system and erase it from the permanent records of the Metamorphoses. It will then go by Delta Flyer directly to Admiral Quinn."

T'oi opened the channel, "Captain, I do not have time for pleasantries, your interest in this affair is complete. You orders are as follows, all records of this mission are to be taken out of the permanent records of your ship and erased. All primary source data is to be put in a sealed capsule and beamed over to my ship. Your Communication Officer has five minutes. You will also purge it from your...collective memory. Do not take this personally Captain, I know your life has been trying since your assimilation, but I simply cannot risk the Borg discovering any part of our plan."

T'oi paused...the continued

"Good work, Captain. A commendation will be appended to your file, but the details will be under an Ultraviolet clearance sequester. Needless to say, you did not meet the Metamorphoses today and this never happened." T'oi softened his brusque tone briefly, "Mr. Frost, you are an exemplary officer, I have spent what seems like a lifetime fighting the Borg, it took Picard the better part of his remaining years to restore some normalcy to his life. You should expect no less difficulty, for that I am genuinely sorry...I hate the Borg, Mr. Frost, it is a flaw of mine that I admit to. I have lost too many friends to the Collective to forgive. Go in peace, Captain...I wish you well. T'oi out."

On the Metamorphoses, noting his orders had been followed to the letter, T'oi emerged from his Ready Room and addressed his First Officer. "Tik get us the hell out of here, use the sub-transwarp drive to slipstream us back to the Task Force, we have very little time."

11 of 10
The screen blacked out leaving no traces of the Vice Admiral. I had anticipated getting thrown in the brig. Had he known I beamed the borg on board my ship? There could only be one of two explanations. The first would be him thinking I would have the borg drone dissected and studied. It seems I am one of the leading experts on borg and borg technology. The second; he hadn't known about it. I find the latter more difficult to believe so he must have known. I quickly dismissed those thoughts and went to the bridge. Taking my seat I drifted off into thought. The only thing I could remember from the last 12 hours was the borg drone lying in my sickbay. Colin and the doctor were very busy removing the un-necessary implants and trying to keep the thing alive. Thing, now that was a very irritating thought. "Set Course for Beta Ursae!" I barked. "Bridge to Sick Bay: What is the condition of the drone?

"Sir, the drone is, well....you better come down here. He is asking to see you." Colin stated.

I went to the turbolift and barked "deck 5". I was really not in a good mood. I was searching for the memory engrams of the last 12 hours and only remembered fragments. Being ordered to the Bellatrix Sector. Entering the Mutara Nebula. And finally beaming aboard with the drone. Everything else was a blur. The lift doors opened and I made my way to sick bay.

The drone looked completely different. He was beginning to look more like man than a machine. His head was completely restored with the exception of his right eye. The implant had not been removed yet.

"Captain he has been asking for you by name: One of Seven" Colin said.

"Impossible, we weren't of the same hive." I rejected.

"One of Seven, please come closer." the drone rasped.

I approached the bio bed and the drone raised up his right arm lifting a small flap revealed a port of sorts. "Connect" he stated.

Well I was not about to fall prey to the borg again, remembering the events of the last year. "I think not," I stated and turned to leave.

"I am 11 of 10."

"There can be no such designation. Your programming is malfunctioning. Correct it. The drone sat in silence as if pondering the command.

"There is no malfunction all circuits and systems are fully operational. I am 11 of 10. Connect!"

I searched my own programming for anything that would explain the designation. I came across a file strangely that referenced 'stand by drones in a time of war'. It seemed that each designation group had a backup drone in case it went offline. This method was only used during ground assaults. For each designation set a similar set of drones were given similar designations by repeating the first designation set with a leading 1 or 2. So in that respect 11 of 10 was the replacement for 1 of 10 during ground assaults. This enabled the borg to complete a mission based on that drone's orders. If an entire designation set was destroyed the replacement set would continue were the previous had left off. It was ingenious in a way. I wondered why I had to search for this information then realized I was part of a command designation of a cube and had not needed the information loaded, but it was there.

"You are 11 of 10?" I asked. "What are your orders"?

"That information is no longer available. The connection to the hive has been severed. Connect!"

I raised my arm and instinctively two metal tubes protruded as had done before. The tubes went to the open ports and connected...