Humanity Reborn

Posted on Sun Jan 13th, 2013 @ 2:03pm by Commander Alexandra Vance & Commodore Samantha York

1,312 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: The Enemy Within: Lying in Wait
Location: Sickbay

As Alexandra's eyes slowly opened, at first her vision in her human eye was blurred by a dim light above her, but the occular implant immediately began to feed data to her. She recognized the design as a private medical treatment room much like the one she has first been in on the Niagara. She was in Calypso's sickbay.

The room was quiet except for the sound of the monitors. The voices of the collective had been silenced. She grunted as she tried to get up but the medical staff had bound her to the bed. She scoffed as her attempts at getting up were thwarted. The strain she exerted into moving sent a sharp pain to her head and she let out a soft cry closing her eyes and gritting her teeth as the pain seared in her head. The pain caused a couple of tears to fall from her eyes but she began to breath deeply to manage the strain.

The longer she remained conscious the more she began to remember of the events leading up to her blackout. At first the events were a blur, a jumble of voices and bodies racing through her mind. She could not make sense of anything.

Then suddenly she had a moment of clarity.

Cardassians.....

She began to violently squirm attempting to free herself from her prison.

Sam was standing in the doorway, watching Vance. "Hello, Commander," she said, her voice low. "Welcome back."

Vance ceased her struggle startled by the Commodore. A memory in her mind quickly flashed as she remembered a smug smile on the very same face that was studying her at this very moment. Alexandra simply stared back at Sam with disdain breathing heavily but saying nothing.

The disdain was not lost on Sam. Nor was Vance's mental attitude. "Your implants are gone. You've been severed from the collective. The counselor will come see you shortly."

Vance laid her head back down upon the bed looking up to the ceiling. Her concerns were not with the implants, or even the counselor. A tactical weakness in her had been exploited by a bureaucrat, her stomach twisted at how weak she had become, unlimited resources overcome by a limited being.

"I'm not a bureaucrat. I'm an archaeologist. And a telepath." Sam cocked her head to one side. "You have an unusually strong dislike for bureaucrats."

She walked into the room and sat down in a chair by Vance's bed. "I was given command, I didn't seek it. And in spite of my uniform, I"m still a scientist. Ask Damon." She grinned at that, recalling how many times he teased her about not going into caves. Her innate curiosity about what might be underground often got her in trouble.

Alexandra already knew Samantha was a telepath but the severance from the Borg had left her mind unable to ward off intruders. She turned and looked at York. "A leader is not made they are born. A command is not sought it is earned, and when it is earned you must place everything you were aside for not only the mission, but for the welfare of ship and crew. Sometimes you must sacrifice one for the other. Risks are required to attain a goal but you risked too much to bring me here. You should have destroyed me with the rest of them..." she replied, her voice quiet and raspy.

"That's because I'm not a bureaucrat. I'm a scientist who was given command of a starship. I'm also married to a Marine. I leave no one behind if I can possibly help it." She figured if Vance didn't know that bit of information, she would. And if she was going to trust Vance as her XO, she would have to start somewhere. It wasn't that her marriage to Damon was a secret. It wasn't. It was just that they hadn't bothered telling anyone. For now, they were content to keep it to themselves.

Sam watched Vance quietly for several moments. "I'm also not your enemy. I may not be your friend, but I'm not going to hurt you on purpose -- unless it's to get you away from the Borg."

"Fifty-Seven members of the Calypso were assimilated, over three hundred fought on the Borg vessel. How many did not come back? How many have lost a part of themselves? Not all things that can be taken away can be seen Captain...." her voice trailed off as she returned her gaze to the ceiling.

"And it does not take a telepath to see you and Captain Raine share a special bond. It only took a moment for me to see this."

"That's no secret," Sam chuckled. "But I'm here to talk about you. How do you feel?"

Alexandra bit her lip holding back a wave of emotion. She wanted to cry but she would not, not in front of the Commanding Officer even though Sam would know of this. She looked to York. "Almost human." she said softly.

Sam smiled and gave Alexandra's arm a brief squeeze. "I think that can be said of most of us. What can I do to help you get back to normal -- or as normal as you can get at this point in time?"

"I will be fine, what of the rest of the crew. How many of them were lost?" Vance asked diverting the conversation.

"Seventeen from the Calypso," she said sadly.

Alexandra's breathing became heavier. "I hope it was worth it Captain....."

"It was," Sam replied firmly. "It was not your fault. If it hadn't been you, it would have been someone else. No one blames you for what happened. We blame the Borg."

Alexandra knew Sam was right but a part of her still blamed herself. "I would gladly become assimilated a thousand more times to save someone the harm of living that nightmare once. The Borg were not entirely to blame, if they were I would not be here now."

"What about us saving you? Would you deny us that? You say you would go back to save someone the harm of being Borg, but what about you? Saving you counts."

"You are a great Commander, Commodore York. Not many would do what you have done."

"I like to think there are many like me. I've met some of them. Damon, Burke, Bennett." Sam smiled. "But thank you for the compliment. For now, you need to get better, physically and mentally. Talk to Lieutenant Hoffman and take some time to relax. If there's anything you need, just ask."

"I am fine Captain, I just require some medication for headaches and a good night's sleep. I understand the need to follow protocol however I have no information for the counselor, his clearances do not meet the operational requirement. If I require further aid I will ensure to inform you right away."

"If you like, you could release me from these bonds, it would be greatly appreciated."

Sam gently listened to Vance's emotions and nodded. "I'll have the doctor come in and release your bonds. Those were to keep you safe while you were still Borg, but there's no need for them now." She signaled to the nurse outside to get the doctor.

Doctor Bowen came in and, at a word from Sam, quickly remove the straps holding Alexandra to her bed. "Do you need any medication?"

"For headaches please doctor, my mind is still adjusting to the occular implant." Vance said rubbing her forehead.

Leanne prepared a hypospray and shot Vance in the side of her neck. "That should help you. There's a program in the computer for people adjusting to various occular devices. It will easily adapt to your needs."

"Thank you Doctor, I am sure I will adapt in time." Alexandra said leaving the room.

 

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