The greatest fear of them all.

Posted on Saturday, 18 April 2020 - 10:48am by Lieutenant T'Lanna Vali

Mission: Operation: Overdrive
Location: Shuttle one within the dark nebula.
Timeline: Current

{ON}

T’Lanna awoke finding herself back where she’d never wanted to be, back in an alcove aboard a Borg cube. At first she resisted the temptation to look down at herself, afraid of finding herself clad back in armour with pipes and tubes coming out of it.

<< It’s alright, you can look. There’s nothing to fear. >>

The voice in her head was a solo one, no milling of the millions of minds that made up the collective. Just her, just the woman’s voice. Her mother’s voice...

<< Don’t be afraid T’Lanna, you’re home now. Back where you were always meant to be. >>

T’Lanna looked down at herself surprised to see she wasn’t clad as a drone. She stepped out of the alcove, more Borg were milling around going about their usual tasks each taking no notice of her at all. There was no reason they would, she was no threat to them.

“Welcome home T’Lanna.” Her mother appeared in front of her, but she was no longer a drone. Instead she was clad in the black figure hugging suit of a Borg Queen. “It’s been too long since you left us.”

“What?” T’Lanna looked at her mother. “This isn’t real...we found you floating in space! You only lived for a few moments before you died!! I saw you die so I know this isn’t real.”

“Are you so narrow minded T’Lanna?” Her mother reached out a hand and touched her face. “You know that a Queen never dies!” She smiled as she walked with T’Lanna taking her towards the control centre of the cube. “We exist, we always exist.”

“I don’t understand” T’Lanna looked at the Queen, could this really be her mother? Or was it all some terrible nightmare?

“You’ll understand T’Lanna. You see you never really left us, we simply chose to let you go. You are one of the unique few who have experienced life as a part of our collective, who has learned to be one alone again. You are truly one of the unique, and you know how valuable the unique are to us!” She waved her hand towards all the Borg aboard the cube. “You exist as part of us and yet you are not part of the collective.

She paused and smiled. “Ahh we have arrived”

Moments later they shimmered onto the surface of a planet, only it wasn’t a planet it looked like a metallic lake and upon that lake was a boat with a man she recognised being attacked by Borg. “Raith?!!”

"We are the Borg. Existence, as you know it, is over. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile."

“Do not be afraid T’Lanna, you like him and he likes you. He will live to service us and you.” Her mother walked ahead towards the boat.

T’Lanna did all she could think of to do as she watched the Borg bearing down on Raith.

"No!!! Raith, fight it!!! You have to fight them!!! Please, don't turn him into one of them... MOTHER Please!!!"

She could only stand and watch as he screamed out loud, the horrifying scream filled her mind as she wished more than anything she could make it all go away.

{OFF}

 

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