New Life
Rated PG-13
Chapters 1-3
Chapter One
Captain William T. Riker sat in the command chair of his new ship. To his left was Deanna, his wife and Ship’s Counselor and to his right sat his first officer, Commander Semaj of Vulcan.
It was an ordinary and quiet day as they drifted through space on their way to the nebula class system of Freya Four. They were headed there because, as an old friend once said, they had never been there before. Captain Riker was curious about the vivid colours the nebula displayed on a daily basis. He heard it was a never ending show of colour.
Suddenly, his communications officer broke the silence. “Sir, there is a distress signal coming from…” She paused for a moment and looked shocked. “A Borg ship. Audio only.”
“Let’s hear it,” Will replied.
*This is the Borg. We need medical assistance. Please respond.*
The voice sounded familiar, but Will could not recall were he had heard it before. As he listened to the message repeat, he could not figure out why a Borg ship would be sending a distress signal for medical assistance. It made no sense to him.
“Can you get a visual on their ship?” Will asked.
“Their ship appears to have taken heavy damage, Sir,” Lieutenant Colby the Tactical officer replied. “I can not get a visual. Audio only.”
“Damn!” Will exclaimed.
“I’m sensing no hostile intent from them,” Deanna informed Will. “They honestly seem desperate for help.”
“Open hailing frequencies,” Will ordered.
“Hailing frequencies open,” The communications officer replied.
“This is Captain William T. Riker of the Federation starship USS Titan. How can we be of assistance to you?”
“I am Hugh of the neo-Borg, as you call us,” Hugh replied.
Will smiled. He was glad to hear it was Hugh and his group of Borg rather than the assimilating Borg that they had all come to dread. “Hello Hugh. How can we assist you?”
“We have a female Borg,” Hugh explained. “She is…” Hugh paused to think of the right words to describe the woman’s condition. “Pregnant.”
There was stunned silence on the bridge of the Titan. A pregnant Borg was not something a person heard of every day.
“Excuse me,” Deanna joined the conversation. “Did you say she was pregnant?”
“Yes,” Hugh replied. “She was 13 of 21, but we call her by her pre-assimilation name now. She is Sarah. She and 5 of 12, or Bob, are mates.”
“Mates?” Will and Deanna asked together.
“Yes,” Hugh replied. “Is this not the way non-Borg procreate?”
Confused still, but not without words, Will answered, “Yes, it is.”
“How can we help?” Deanna asked with concern.
“We need a doctor, who knows how to help Sarah and her baby.”
“You don’t know what to do?” Will was shocked.
“We have never had this experience before,” Hugh explained. “The Borg have no need for procreation. However, we do, if we are to continue to exist, because we do not assimilate.”
Will was very confused. So, was the rest of the bridge crew.
“Will you help us?” Hugh asked with pure innocence.
“Is she in labour now?” Deanna asked.
“I am not sure,” Hugh answered with child-like innocence.
Deanna could sense his confusion and uncertainty. Until their two ships met, there was nothing she could do to help Hugh become unconfused.
“Your ship has taken heavy damage,” Semaj asked. “Is anyone else needing medical assistance?”
“No, everyone else is fine,” Hugh replied. “But Sarah is not doing so well. We need your help to help her.” Hugh’s voice was nearly pleading as he waited the Titan’s answer.
“I guess we can ask him more questions later,” Will said softly to Deanna. Deanna nodded. Then he addressed Hugh again. “Yes, we will help you.”
Will stopped speaking to Hugh for a minute and addressed his conn officer. “How long until we reach their ship?”
“Approximately one hour at this speed.”
“At warp eight?”
“Thirty minutes.”
Then Will continued speaking to Hugh. “We will be arriving at your location in approximately thirty minutes.”
“Thank you.”
The channel went dead, leaving the crew of the Titan to their many questions.
“They have no idea how to care for an unborn child?” Will asked more to himself than anyone. “Don’t the Borg also assimilate the knowledge of the person they assimilate? Surely there was a doctor among those assimilated.”
“Maybe they see no need for that knowledge since they do not procreate,” Semaj suggested. “That would be the logical conclusion since the Borg assimilate people in order to perpetuate their species.”
“Well, we’ll find out soon enough.” Will replied.
Chapter Two
It was not long until the Neo-Borg and the Titan were in range of each other. Will did not want a heavily armed security team beaming over with the medical team, but he also knew security was needed. He knew this was Hugh’s group, yet at the same time he could not forget that they were Borg also. He only trusted them as far as he could throw them and that was not very far.
Will had been reviewing the Titan’s CMO Lieutenant-commander James Sanders record in his ready room. The officer had been with Starfleet for fifteen years and his goal was to be the first doctor to find a cure for Iverson’s disease. His mother had contracted the debilitating disease ten years ago. She had succumbed to it more than a year ago from the effects of the disease. He had been very critical of himself for not finding a cure soon enough for his mother and he still had quite a ways to go before he managed to find the cure. Yet he did not let his failure affect his career either.
He had also gone over his security chief, Commander Monroe‘s, record. The man had been decorated five times for his bravery. Will was impressed and glad that he apparently had one of the best crews a captain could ever have.
Will suddenly tapped his comm badge, “Captain to Doctor Sanders.”
*Sanders here.* Came the voice of their new doctor.
“Please meet with Commander Monroe and Counselor Troi-Riker to form an away team,” Will ordered.
*Yes, sir,* Replied the doctor.
“Monroe and the counselor will brief you on the details of the mission.”
*Aye, Sir. I’m on my way.*
“Riker out.”
The team had been assembled and beamed over to Hugh’s ship. The team was made up of two security officers, Counselor Deanna Troi, and the CMO James Sanders. Hugh was there to greet them.
“Hello.”
“Hello,” Replied the CMO. “I understand there is a pregnant woman needing medical assistance.”
“Yes, this way.” Everyone in the away team followed Hugh.
“Is she in labour now?”
“I do not know,” Hugh replied with child-like innocence.
The doctor sighed.
“Allow me, Doctor,” Deanna offered. “Is she complaining of pain?”
“Yes,” Hugh replied with a worried look.
“What kind?”
“She has not said,” Hugh stated with curiosity on his face.
Deanna was not getting any farther than the doctor was with Hugh.
“Has her water broke?” Deanna continued.
Hugh was now puzzled, “Water?”
“Never mind,” Deanna replied as they finally reached the woman. “The doctor will figure it all out for her.”
“This is Sarah,” Hugh stated as he gestured to the woman resting in an alcove.
Doctor Sanders pulled out his medical tricorder as the woman stepped forward from the alcove. He then proceeded to scan the woman. He could tell that she was pain, but he also noticed that the pain was transient. He nodded his head as he read the findings, then he closed the scanner.
“Is she going to be alright, Doctor?” Hugh asked with concern.
“She apparently has been having Braxton-Hicks contractions.”
“I do not understand,” Hugh stated.
“Nor do I,” the woman finally spoke. It was obvious to the away team that she was very scared.
“False labour,” The CMO replied. “How old were you when you were assimilated?”
“I was seven,” the female Borg replied.
“Wasn’t knowledge on childbirth given to you at any point during your assimilation?”
“No,” both Hugh and Sarah replied with confusion.
“It was not necessary,” Hugh continued.
Doctor Sanders nodded. “Well, she has several days, maybe another month before she gives birth. Everything seems fine concerning the baby. I understand the Borg have nurseries with incubators?”
“They do,” Hugh replied with a nod.
“Will you please show me yours so that I can tell if it is equipped for this child?”
“Korok destroyed the nursery.” Hugh informed them.
“What? Why?” Deanna asked with horror.
“Who is Korok?” The doctor asked.
“Korok was formally Six of Nine,” Hugh explained. “His origins are Klingon. He did not want anymore infants being turned into Borg.”
“But did he not know about Sarah’s baby?” Deanna asked with shock.
The Klingon Neo-Borg entered the room in true Klingon fashion. “At the time I did not.”
Everyone turned to face Korok. The two security officers that were with Deanna and Doctor Sanders stepped in front of them and were ready for anything as they all four stared at the burly Klingon neo-Borg.
“I am Korok and I wish to be addressed as such. Though I look Borg, I can guarantee you that I am very much severed from the Borg. I’d sooner kill them in this state than to be reconnected to the hive.”
The CMO gulped. “Very Klingon of you.”
“You consider Hugh the leader of this ship, but I assure you, he is but a mere child!” Korok continued with a look of distain on his face as he looked in Hugh‘s direction. “If anyone is the leader of this ship, it is I. I was the one who allowed Hugh to contact your ship. A Federation ship. If you were Borg, I would have had you fired upon and would have been proud to die in battle.”
“I see,” Deanna replied as she wondered if that was why their ship was damaged. She dismissed the thought and directed her attention back to the matter at hand. “Why was it you destroyed the nursery?”
“Infants should not be assimilated.” Korok growled.
“May we see what is left of it?” Doctor Sanders inquired.
“There is nothing salvageable if that is what you are looking for,” Korok stated flatly. “I have destroyed everything.”
“May we beam Sarah aboard the Titan to care for her in her last days of pregnancy?” Deanna asked with concern.
"Yes, I would like to observe her, to make sure everything continues to go alright," the doctor stated.
“Do as you wish, but do not turn the child over to the Borg,” Korok stated firmly. “If you do, I shall kill you and your crew.”
“I would not put it past him,” Hugh stated with fear in his voice.
“This child is our future, for we can not return to our homes,” Korok added. “If this child is harmed in anyway, I will be forced to declare war on your ship and the Federation.”
“I can promise you,” Deanna assured. “We will not harm this woman or her child. We just want to help.”
“I understand and accept your offer of assistance,” Korok stated in a softer tone. “Do as you must in order to assist her and the child.”
Korok left the room. Deanna and Doctor Sanders returned to attending to the pregnant woman.
“What do you think of Korok?” The doctor asked Deanna.
“He has a lot of anger towards the Borg, but I do not sense any threat to us, as long as we help Sarah and the baby.”
“He is a just man,” Hugh informed them. “He just does not want any of us, including this child, re-assimilated and he is right, I do not command this ship. He does. I only wish I did.”
Deanna placed a gentle hand on Hugh’s shoulder. She could sense Hugh’s struggle with Korok’s overbearing demeanour.
“However, he is more capable than I am of keeping us from being re-assimilated with the Borg.”
“We’re ready,” Doctor Sanders stated. “I believe I can make her more comfortable on the Titan, but I will need an alcove so that she can regenerate.”
“I can provide that for you,” Hugh stated.
“I want it brought to Sickbay as soon as possible.”
“I will comply,” Hugh stated flatly.
Doctor Sanders flinched at the typical Borg reply that Hugh gave. He wished Hugh would not respond to him in such a manner, but did not say anything about it. Instead, he tapped his combadge and waited for the familiar tweet.
“Titan, five to beam up.”
Suddenly, the familiar feel of the transporter took over them and beamed them off of Hugh’s ship. Then they were back on the Titan.
Doctor Sanders gave a sigh of relief. He was glad to be off the Borg ship, or at least what was in his mind a Borg ship. He was especially glad to be away from Korok. He was not sure what to make of the man.
Security continued to stay with Deanna and the doctor as they headed for Sickbay with Sarah. Riker had given them orders to stay with Deanna and Doctor Sanders. They were not to leave them unattended with the neo-Borg under any circumstances. Doctor Sanders was thankful that Captain Riker had given those orders, because he had no idea what he was doing with a Borg in his Sickbay, especially a pregnant one.
Chapter Three
They finally arrived at Sickbay. Doctor Sanders tried to make the neo-Borg comfortable, although he was not sure how to make a Borg comfortable. He knew they were not use to comfort as he knew it.
Captain Riker entered Sickbay. He was very curious about this female Borg who was no longer connected to the hive. He wanted to meet her and find out more about this baby she was carrying.
Riker spoke to the woman for a brief moment before he talked with his CMO. He found that she was a female version of Hugh. However, the one thought that concerned him was the woman seemed very young. He guessed her age to be some where around eighteen or at the very most twenty years.
Will tried to shake off his concern for the woman and concentrate on what Doctor Sanders was saying.
“This child is of Terran and Bajoran origin,” the doctor commented as he gave his report to Riker. “By all appearances this is just a baby, only…”
“Only what?” Riker encouraged the doctor to continue.
“I believe it has nanoprobes, Sir.”
“So, it is Borg?”
“Yes and no.”
“I don’t understand,” Riker tried to get the doctor to clarify.
“Let me show you,” the doctor continued as he put the unborn child on screen so that Riker to see the child for himself. “As you can see, there are nanoprobes running through out its system.”
“So, what you are saying is, this child is Borg, but it has none of the Borg technology beyond the nanoprobes?”
“Yes,” replied the doctor. “This baby has all the genetic structure of it’s parents, except the child has one extra thing that can not be helped because the nanoprobes are in the parents’ systems.”
“So, it is not Borg?” Riker asked with confusion.
“Only in the fact that it has nanoprobes,” Doctor Sanders replied. “To be honest with you, I need help here. I’m not sure how to help this mother and child. Do I treat it as Borg or do I treat it as Bajoran or Terran when it is born? If I have to treat the child as Borg, well quite frankly, this out of my league if that is the case.”
Riker nodded. He was still a little nervous about having Borg, even Neo-Borg on his ship. He did not like it one bit, but they did send out a distress call and he was the one who answered it. He was not sure if he had done the right thing, but he knew he would find out soon enough. He just needed to find the people who could help and he was hoping that they would.
“I know a few people who are familiar with Borg technology,” Riker finally told his CMO. “I’ll see what I can do. With a little luck, we can get them to come here and help you with this baby.”
“Thank you, Sir,” the CMO replied.
Riker gave him a nod again. “I’ll be on the Bridge if you need me.”
“Let me know if you succeed in getting me any assistance with this child.”
“You can count it,” Riker replied as he left Sickbay.
A few minutes later Captain Riker walked onto the Bridge and addressed his communications officer, “Uhura, see if you can contact Admiral Jean-Luc Picard.”
“Sir?” She questioned.
“Just do it!” Riker snapped. “And when you’ve made contact with him, put it through to my ready room.”
The young woman was still confused, but did as she was ordered as Will headed to his ready room to wait for the call to be put through. His wife could sense his tension and followed him.
When the door slid shut behind them, Deanna asked, “Will, are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” He growled.
“You don’t seem like it.”
“I’m fine!” He insisted as he picked up a PADD that was lying on his desk. “You know Lieutenant Toby Uhura out there maybe the granddaughter of the Uhura on the Enterprise 1701, but she still has a lot to learn about communications.”
“It’s pronounced Toe-bay,” Deanna informed Will. “Your order was rather sudden and you took everyone a little off guard with the sudden abruptness. However, I really don’t think it is her skill that is bothering you.”
“Deanna, I really don’t need you to tell me how to address my crew.”
“No, you don’t, but I do think you need to talk about what is bothering you.”
Will sighed and threw down the PADD onto his desk. “No, you’re right. I was a bit snappy with her.”
“So,” Deanna began to ask once more. “What is bothering you?”
“We are dealing with Borg!” Will exclaimed. “They maybe be severed from the hive, but there is some reason as to why their ship is heavily damaged. Are we going to have to deal with Borg who want to re-assimilate them and assimilate us while they are at it? I don‘t like this one bit, Deanna.”
“Then why did you agree to help?” Deanna inquired gently.
Will shook his head. “Because, Hugh sent out a distress call.”
“And you felt it was your duty to reply to it?”
“Yes,” Will paused and turned his chair to face the portal, which had a good view of the Neo-Borg ship. “Oh hell! I don’t know! Maybe I just like suicide missions, especially when we’re just floating through space with nothing better to do!”
Deanna frowned as she sat down in one of the chairs in front of Will’s desk. Deanna sensed Will was kicking himself for agreeing to help this woman and her child. She also sensed his fear of the unknown factors concerning the ship just off their starboard side.
“Will, why don’t you speak with Korok?”
“Who’s Korok?”
“He is the one who actually commands that Borg ship out there.” Deanna informed him as she gestured toward the ship outside the window.
“And that is suppose to reassure me?”
“No, but you’ll find out why their ship is damaged.”
“Oh, I can just imagine,” Will rolled his eyes with sarcasm. “The Borg attacked them to re-assimilate them.”
Will’s comm beeped. Deanna started to leave, but then leaned over Will’s desk to get closer to him. “Just talk to him. I think you will get a surprise.”
Will shook his head as he watched Deanna leave and answered the beeping. “Admiral.” Will nodded as he greeted his former captain.
“Will! How nice to speak with you again!” Picard replied with a smile.
“Oh, I’m not sure how long that feeling is going to last.”
“Oh?” Picard suddenly got a look of concern. “What’s going on, Will?”
Will took a deep breath and explained the whole story to Picard. He finally finished by saying, “And I need your help as well as Beverly’s help.”
Picard nodded. “And you may have some other worries on your hands if the Borg come looking for Hugh and his friends.”
“I know,” Will frowned heavily with worry. “I’m not sure what I have gotten myself into.”
“I’ll let Starfleet know the situation,” Picard replied. “And I’ll see if Beverly and I can get a ship out of here very soon.”
“We may need a whole fleet of ships if we have to deal with the Borg.”
Picard nodded. “I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t make any promises. Starfleet may have other ideas on how to handle this situation.”
“I understand.”
“I’ll get back with you, Will, as soon as I can,” Picard stated.
“Thank you, Sir. Riker out.”
The screen went blank and Will decided it was time to have a meeting with his senior staff. So, he made a ship wide announcement. “All senior officers, please report to the Observation Lounge.”
Will stood, reached for the bottom of his shirt, and did what had become known as the ‘Picard Maneuver’. As he adjusted his uniform shirt, he thought, “Afterwards, I guess I’ll meet with this Korok.” Then he left his ready room and headed for the Observation Lounge.
Continue to Chapters 4 through 6
© Mriana, 2004