Chapter 29
The reign of One of Many, née Annika Hansen; Queen of Borg.
Year 00, Month 6, Day 16, Hour 9, Minute 3.
Seven, B'Elanna, and Pagsha, looked at Anidan who was pacing back and forth in front of a presentation screen.
"The thing is that I can only guess how things will work. To be sure we need to test them so that we can see how they work and if I can maybe improve the item before it is used on every Borg ship or planet."
"You have been doing tests with drone ships," Seven noted.
"Yes," Anidan agreed. "But that only takes me so far. The size of the ships are normally still in the shuttle range so I can't test things that simply won't fit on the drone ships. For instance, I can't test an improvement to the code four, or bigger, warp core simply because they are bigger than the drone ship."
"So what do you suggest instead?" Seven asked.
"Well," Anidan said slowly. "Obviously a cube is the most common Borg ship. So just as obviously most of my bigger inventions or improvements are destined to be installed on cubes. I would suggest we use them for testing as well. On my Homeworld, when something had to be tested with ships, be it water, land, air, or space, we would often use something we called X ships. The X being short for Experimental. So I would like it if we could do that with cubes too. If there is something that needs to be tested in real settings, after I did all the holodeck tests, then one of the new cubes that is being built at that moment is designated an X cube and the new system is then installed there. That way the system is tested under real circumstances."
Seven looked at B'Elanna and Pagsha for a moment to see if one of them wanted to comment, also showing them that way that she wasn't resolutely against the idea. So if they were, now was the time to speak up.
B'Elanna wasn't against the idea either, but she did have a few things to point out. "The problem with experiments is that sometimes they go wrong. There is the potential of something going wrong on those X cubes and them being destroyed in the process."
"That chance always exists," Anidan was forced to admit.
"Even though the Borg don't use money and don't have to pay for things in that way, those things are still expensive," B'Elanna continued. "Resources harvested, time spent to build it. And let's not forget that the average cube is manned by 5,000 drones standard, and can actually be manned by up to 180,000 drones. So wouldn't it be better if instead we build some computer operated shells of ships that the experimental device can then be built into?"
Anidan shook her head. "I thought of that one as well. It would still not be a real test. Of course, if you want it could be an extra step in between inventing the devices and installing them on cubes. But for a real test you need a real and fully operational cube. As you know, any body in space creates its own gravity field. We never notice it on ships because the artificial gravity we use is much stronger in comparison. We don't notice it because the artificial gravity counters it, but even when we are simply walking through the corridors, the own gravity of Unimatrix 01 is actually pulling us all ever so slightly to the center of the ship. The problem is that not all places on a ship are exposed to that artificial gravity. We have parts on this ship where artificial gravity is pulling a person walking through a corridor to the left, while the natural gravity of Unimatrix 01 is pulling the entire corridor to the right. We just don't notice it because the structure of the ship prevents the corridor from actually moving to the right."
"Your point being?" B'Elanna asked.
"My point being that this real gravity also influences certain things that have to be kept in mind with certain devices."
"Like the pressure operated trigger in transwarp coils," Pagsha spoke up. "Those are regulated by the change in real gravity; the faster a ship moves, the more real gravity shifts to the back and the more the sensors register pressure, giving you an extremely precise reading of your real speed."
Anidan, who had actually invented the transwarp coils the Borg used in recent years merely shrugged. "It was a simple addition. And best of all because real gravity is always there, it's a way that always gives you the right readings unless the coils are broken beyond use."
Then she looked back at Seven. "But it's much more than that. For instance, the warp core of a cube gives a very faint hum just like all warp cores. That hum resonates throughout the entire ship; the reason why you still hear it even if you are as far away from the core as possible while still being in the ship. Such frequency can also affect other devices. I can test, say a new atmospheric regulator until I'm blue in the face..."
Anidan hesitated for a moment before grinning, "Well, if I was blue in the face it would mean that the device is not working, wouldn't it?"
The others laughed at the sudden humor coming from the otherwise so serious Engineer.
Then Anidan continued. "But then the device is installed on a cube and the warp core frequency would then be just at the right level to shake the device to bits. Or what about stresses? 5,000 drones walking around in a ship puts certain stresses on that ship. We need these stresses to see if they affect the devices."
"I can see your point," Seven agreed. "However, the risk is still a factor."
"Maybe we can have the Individualist drone system help," Pagsha suggested. "We could staff those cubes with drones that are interested in technical things; staff the cubes with technically inclined species. And on top of that have those drones be drones of which scans have proven that they will know how to act directly and fast in case of an emergency."
"Would escape pods change the cube too much?" B'Elanna wondered. "Otherwise we could compensate for the higher risk level by make the cubes easier to evacuate if needed."
Anidan turned to the presentation screen and brought up the schematics of a standard cube. "Well, it depends on where you put them and how big they are," she finally said. "But I do think that if put in the right places they would not influence the outcome of tests too much. Meaning only on such a small level that if the test has been passed than the chances are small to nonexistent that there will be problems if used on a regular cube."
They looked at Seven to see what her decision would be. After thinking about it for a moment, Seven nodded. "Very well, you will have your X program. However, I want those cubes reused. We staff the cubes with technically inclined personnel; I also want to keep them busy after that first round of tests. So cubes will be designated X cubes and major changes will be made to them as you need them. But once the cube is in use they will also be used for doing tests on things that can be done by simply building something on a ship that does not require changing the structure of the ship."
"Hey, I'm all for that," Anidan assured. "It will give me the perfect chance to have smaller things tested. There are a lot of things that the Borg already use that I think can be improved. Also, the major tests in the beginning... even there we can combine a few things. I mean, if a cube has a new warp core design that needs testing, that doesn't mean that we can't also use that same cube to test a new tractor beam."
"True," Seven agreed. "Very well, time to move on to the next point."
~~~~~~~~~~{}~~~~~~~~~~
The reign of One of Many, née Annika Hansen; Queen of Borg.
Year 00, Month 06, Day 17, Hour 13, Minute 04.
"You wanted to see me, my Queen?" Katzi asked.
Seven was slightly surprised by the way Katzi addressed her. The 'my Queen' had become common for the Individualist drones, so that wasn't a surprise. What was a surprise was that Katzi, as a Zamonan, called her my Queen.
"Please sit down." Once Katzi had done so, Seven continued. "You are free to call me One of Many if the title 'my Queen' causes conflicts with who you see as your ultimate commander, me or Queen Erda."
"I know, my Queen. I will go back to calling Queen Erda 'my' Queen when I leave the Borg."
"Well, in that case, the reason I called you. You regenerated yesterday. Was everything to your satisfaction?"
"It was. It's a little like going to sleep, but different. More like some kind of lively dream in which you learn stuff. But it wasn't the first time I regenerated."
"I know," Seven agreed.
It had been Seven herself that had brought up to the Collective that simply thrusting people into being a Borg drone might be a counteractive procedure, even if some time later they would be brought out of the Collective again because they were designated to be Individualist drones. Seven had pointed out that suddenly bening totally severed from the Collective could be traumatic for a drone, which meant that suddenly being thrust into being a full drone could be just as traumatic.
So it had been decided that the first month of service would be a gradual joining, unless of course it was a short living person of who would serve less than a year in the Borg. In that month they would only regenerate the normal timeframes and the rest of the time they would explore their new living and working environment, and they would study what kind of jobs there were to be done in the Borg.
Seeing that these new people would join the Borg as Individualist drones it was considered convenient if they could do a job they actually liked doing. When the month was over they would have to hand in a list of in what priority they would like to perform what tasks. If there was still room in the job they wanted to do most they would be appointed that task. If not then it would be seen if the second favorite job was available, and so on. Katzi was still in that stage of only having to regenerate and exploring her environment.
"You have been told that whenever you start regenerating your memory is scanned."
"Sure, and everything deemed irrelevant is filtered out," Katzi said. "My Queen, if this is about Pagsha and me,"
"Rest assured, whatever transpired between Pagsha and you has not been uploaded to the Hive mind. Anything B'Elanna and I know on the matter we know from Pagsha herself. But since you brought up the subject, Pagsha told us about your commitment to her. I am pleased to hear that. B'Elanna and I consider Pagsha a very dear friend, and we are glad to hear that she has found someone that fits all her wishes so perfectly. I merely regret that you had to break your back in order for that to happen."
"I'm not," Katzi assured. "If I hadn't broken my back I would never have met her, at most I might have seen her walking through the village. Meeting her... it was well worth those four months of pain."
Now Seven smiled. "And I am also glad to see that what Dasia said is true; if a Zamonan falls, she falls hard. But no, Pagsha is not the reason I wanted to see you. The reason I wanted to see you is because yesterday there was for the first time something in your mind scan that caught the interest of the Borg, and that was brought to my attention."
"Really?" Katzi asked while she shot a quick look to the corner of the room, where B'Elanna was in deep discussion with Third officer Anidan Dubinak. "Um, what did I do?"
"Rest assured, there was nothing about your scan that was considered harmful. If there was, the last thing that would happen would be that you would be brought to me like this," Seven said. "It is not a wise move to, for instance, bring someone in front of the Queen that has formed ideas about killing the Queen. But, the protection of the Queen has been on your mind. The scan has shown that you think it unwise that the Queen, me, is being protected by whatever drones happen to be available for that job at the time."
"Well, yeah, I have been thinking about that," Katzi agreed. "At home, we also don't just let anyone guard the Queen; we have the Royal Guards, which are especially trained for the job. I think it would be much better if you also had Royal Guards of sorts; certain drones that are always the same drones. That way you could have those drones be especially equipped for the job, and it could be Individualist drones that could be trained for the job so that they also know how to do it if for some reason the link to the Hive is interrupted. Also, sometimes protection requires creative thinking, and let's face it, creative thinkers connected drones are not. You..." Katzi stopped as Seven lifted her hand a little.
"Very well thought out arguments, but there is no need to try and convince me. The Borg, and B'Elanna and I, already agreed this morning that there would indeed be Royal Guards created. Four drones will be selected which have the sole purpose of mine and B'Elanna's protection. If the situation calls for more protection than four drones, regular drones will be added. I just wanted to let you know that we appreciate your interest in our wellbeing, and we thought that you would like to know that it was indeed your idea that sparked the sudden creation of a Royal Guard."
"If you are creating a Royal Guard, I would like to apply for the Job... if that is possible," Katzi spoke up quickly.
Seven looked to her side and just like she knew she would, she saw that B'Elanna had focused her attention on the conversation as well.
"Anidan, would you mind if we take a little break?" B'Elanna asked.
"Not at all, seems that you have a rather interesting situation going on over there. Should I leave?"
"I don't think it's needed. Feel free to use the replicator to get something to drink." With that B'Elanna joined Seven at the table Seven always used to talk to people.
It had been a very conscious choice. There would be no throne, no Royal conference room. Discussions would simply be held in a relatively basic nondescript room for now, and once the bridge was finished, the same conference room would be used that the Senior Staff used for all its meetings.
"Since we agreed in the beginning that the Borg could have a say in our protection, the Borg will decide on the drones that are best suited for the position," Seven meanwhile said. "However, if you really want we can enter you as a suggestion from our side. I am sure that the Borg would let that weigh in heavily and would have to find something unsuitable about you to not take you as one of those drones. But I am wondering if you have thought this through. Your own idea was that the drones could be specially equipped for their task; the Borg did take that idea. If you were to become a drone slotted for Royal Guard there would be substantial modification made to your body, not all of which would be reversible if you do leave the Borg."
"Fair enough," Katzi agreed with a nod. "What changes are the Borg thinking about?"
Before Seven answered she went rigid for almost a second. Since Katzi had seen Pagsha do the same, she knew that Seven had just connected with the Hive mind.
"The list is actually quite extensive," Seven said before starting to mention the list. "There are the obvious implants like the cranial implant, the nanoprobes, the strengthening of the skeleton by a layer of Duranium. The lungs would also be strengthened, but not replaced, in an effort to make it possible for you to breathe different air mixes. Your hearing would be enhanced, but this does not entail any changes to your hearing as such. There would be an implant placed between your ears and the brain, basically an amplifier. Your strength would be increased by approximately one hundred percent. One eye would be removed to be replaced with an artificial one. After all, the night vision and zoom options are capabilities that greatly enhance guarding abilities."
"That doesn't sound too bad," Katzi said. "The eye, would I get an eye like Pagsha has?"
"You would."
"You know, just a suggestion, but you might want to look into giving that thing a color. Mind you, I don't mean coloring the entire lens, I know that doing so would negatively affect the 'eye.' But I don't see any reason why the gray metal couldn't be painted in the color of the remaining eye." Katzi smiled a little sheepishly. "Um, I guess that it wouldn't be a problem with me, since I have gray eyes anyway."
Hearing the talk about the implants, Engineer Anidan came closer. Seven indicated the fourth seat at the table and Anidan sat down besides Katzi.
Seeing that these important women were apparently interested in what she had to say, Katzi went on. "I know that it doesn't change the look of the 'eye,' and that's also not the point. Pagsha actually likes the reminder. She likes being part of the Borg, and every time she sees her reflection, she sees that reminder; she is Borg. But, well, it's the simple things. Like... I like to look her in the 'eyes,' like to tell her what I see in her eyes, but I can't even tell her that I like looking into her brown eyes. I have to tell her that I like looking into her eyes, or I have to tell her that I like looking into her brown and gray eye. A little bit of color could change so much."
"A thin layer of paint over the metal parts wouldn't be a problem," Anidan assured. "We could ask someone what color they would like when we talk to them about implanting the eye."
"Well, if the artificial eye is needed for the job of Royal guard, I'm willing to do it," Katzi said, not wanting to stray too much from the talk about the job she wanted. "Pagsha told me that the artificial eye feels just like the real one once did. And that there's no difference at all in what she sees with the eyes, with the exception that the artificial eye has some very handy functions she can switch on. Like the night vision and the zoom, and the thermal imaging."
"Actually, Katzi," Seven said. "What I have told you until now were the less intrusive adaptations. Your entire digestive system would also be removed, right after the stomach. You would still be able to eat like you do now, but right after leaving your stomach the food would be turned into energy by the implants."
"Can't have the guards leave their post to go take a leak, now can we?" B'Elanna said, making the reason blunt, but very clear.
"You mean I would never have to... again?"
"Never again," B'Elanna said, before grinning. "If you and Pagsha are into it, the cleanness can be very convenient."
"I see," Katzi said. It still didn't sound too bad. Never having to use the toilet again sure didn't sound that bad to her.
"You would get an abdominal implant like mine," Seven continued. "Considering that the sole duty of these drones is to guard, they will have to have the abdominal implant instead of the vest so that the force-field body armor can be activated at all times with nothing more than a thought, instead of first having to get the vest and put it on."
"I see," Katzi said again, now in a completely different tone. She looked at Seven's abdomen, as much of it as she could see over the table edge, and tried to see the metal bands below her clothing.
"Here," Anidan said separating the two parts of her body armor and pulling up the upper part to just below her breasts so that Katzi could see the abdominal implant. Even though Anidan had designed the force field body armor vest, she had opted to use the new abdominal implant; though her choice was more driven by convenience than protection. With the abdominal implant Anidan could do the same as Seven; regenerate in a conscious state, with the tubes attached to her back, giving her more time to work on projects. Considering the improvements she had brought to the Borg during her Individualist state, the Collective had agreed to this special way of regenerating for her. The only condition being that one regeneration cycle every month she would regenerate by joining the Collective. Anidan had agreed.
Katzi looked at the implant for a moment, fascinated by how the bands seemed to move with every breath Anidan took, despite the fact that the bands looked like solid metal. "It looks like it's imbedded in the skin. Doesn't it restrict your movements?"
"The bands are indeed implanted in the skin," Anidan agreed as she lowered the uniform. While she connected the two parts again she continued to explain. "The bands pass through the entire upper and lower layer of skin, but don't go into deeper layers of flesh. There are supports going from the bands to the bones of the body, but they strengthen the body; not limit it. The biggest parts of the implant, like the force field generator, is located in the back; under the skin. To make room for that a part of the spine is removed. But the good thing is, where the old implant did indeed limit your movement quite some, this one actually increases you movement. It makes you more flexible."
"But it doesn't really affect the muscles, I can still keep those as I have, and train them?" Again a sheepish smile. "Pagsha seems to like them even more than I do."
"You can," Anidan assured. "And you indeed have to keep training. Otherwise the muscles will return to normal condition, which is pretty much what I have."
"Alright, I'll do it," Katzi said confidently.
"Katzi, there is one more thing," Seven said before looking down at Katzi's left hand.
"The access tubes?" Katzi asked having a feeling that this would be part of the requirements.
"Actually more than that. The Borg decided that the Royal Guard drones should have a weapon that is attached to the body, like the abdominal implant is, so that the Guard drone can not accidentally misplace the weapon, or lose it in a hostile situation."
Seeing the confused look on Katzi's face as the woman was wondering just where they could put a weapon, Seven clarified. "Your left lower arm would be completely amputated right below the elbow. An artificial arm would be attached that does have the access tubes, but more importantly, also has a phaser imbedded. The room for the phaser and the needed energy cells is the reason why the entire lower arm has to be artificial."
Katzi paled and with open mouth she looked at her left arm. She slowly folder her fingers into a fist before finally just as slowly turning the fist left and right so that she could look at it from both sides. All the time taking in the play of the shifting muscles in the arm. She had trained her entire life to have her arm look like that. Her arm. Her flesh. Could she literally give up a part of herself to get the job? But then she wondered. If it was possible for her to get the job, could she really give up the job just to save her arm? She was applying for a job that might one day mean that she would have to give her life to do her job. Her life. Was it worth part of her body to get the job that she would be willing to give her life for?
Finally she placed her hand flat on the table and looked up with unwavering determination. "Whatever it takes."
"What does this weapon arm look like?" B'Elanna asked.
"The Borg have several weapons that can be attached to amputated arms," Seven said. "Despite that, I believe that none of them would really qualify because all of them mean the actual replacement of the hand with the weapon. However, the loss of a hand would be unacceptable for a drone that might need both hands to prevent someone from harming me. I believe that the actual design of the weapon arm will, once again, be up to Anidan."
"Well, I don't think it be that much of a problem really," Anidan assured.
In fact, in her mind she had the rough idea already worked out. That was one of the reasons why she was such an excellent Engineer. She not only saw how things looked, but also how they could look. If someone described something to her, or she thought of something, then that was immediately translated into a basic image in her mind. She 'saw' how it looked and then only had to figure out how to get to that stage. The weapon's arm was easy in comparison to some other things. Now all that was needed was for her to sit at a table and think about just what components to use.
"Give me a couple of hours in my workshop and I think I'll have a working prototype for you."
"In that case, what are you thinking about?" B'Elanna wondered.
"Well, first to reassure the tall one here, I think that the looks won't suffer much. Lonika will be able to make the outside look and feel just like your real arm. Except if you squeeze it too hard, you'll feel the metal structure inside instead of the bones, of course. But if you hold it normally, like if someone... a certain woman we all know for instance... were to just hold your arm, it will feel normal to her. Same goes for those muscles she seems to like so much. You'll still see those muscles move that you were just looking at when you move your arm like you just did. Only that you will know that they aren't real. With the regular maintenance intervals the artificial skin and muscles can be changed to reflect the trained state the rest of your body is in. After all, you don't want an arm with my muscle tone on your body. It would look weird and make it very obvious that the arm isn't real. So all in all the arm will look just like the one you now have, but there will have to be two metal parts on it."
"Why?" Katzi asked.
"As Seven said, there must be room for the weapon and the energy cells. Which means that those will be permanently inside the arm. Any maintenance of that will mean cutting the artificial skin. But I have a tool to fix that skin, which I'll give you. Kinda like a dermal regenerator. You'll be able to 'heal' the artificial skin with it, if the damage is not too big. The energy cells will obviously need recharging. While normal charging to keep the cells full can be done during regeneration, there must also be a way of charging the cells without regenerating. In case you used the weapon and the situation is still not secure enough to go regenerating. So I was thinking of having an access point... a plug if you like... close to the elbow on the underside of the arm, since the energy cells will be placed to the back of the arm. The weapon itself is a little bit trickier. You will have to be able to use it without shooting your own hand off. So I was thinking more like there being a bigger point on the upper side of the arm, right above the wrist which can open up and where the weapon's head can come out. By placing it close to the wrist on the upper side of the arm, you can point the weapon by pointing your arm at the target and holding your hand down; no shooting off your own hand."
"How big a point?" Katzi asked.
"I don't know," Anidan said in a tone that sounded annoyed. "Look, I'm just making this crap up right here on the spot."
Remembering what Pagsha had said about how short, to the point of rude, the engineer could be... but that she wasn't really like that, and also remembering that this woman was actually a friend of her lover, Katzi gave her a small smile before asking, "An estimate. An educated guess from you is all I need."
Anidan scowled before suddenly lifting her eyebrows as if realization had struck her. "You have been taking lessons from Pagsha, haven't you?"
"Lessons? Let's just say that the Little One did talk about her friend."
"Little One?" Anidan asked.
"An endearment," Katzi assured. "I think it's a fitting one for a woman of who the top of her head comes just to the underside of my chin."
"Right," Anidan said with a grin. "Actually, fact is the head of the weapon needs to have a certain size, smaller and physics demand that the effect of the weapon also gets smaller. Add to that the feed line for the energy to the head, and you'll see that I'm not talking about literally a point. More like..."
Anidan took Katzi's hand from the table and folded away the fingers until only the ring and middle finger were still standing. "Rough estimate, since I really only am thinking this up right here, I would say a rectangle about the size of those two fingers. Beginning as I said just above the wrist and going up."
"But that thing is normally inside the arm if not used? So I assume that there is some cover over that place, which means that on my arm you just see the rectangle, a rectangle that folds open so that the head of the weapon can come out when I activate it? Does that mean that I can have the cover decorated? Engraved, painted?"
"Well, yeah, I guess. As long as the engraving isn't too deep, otherwise the cover plate has to obviously be made thicker. But don't expect me to do that for you. I'll make the cover plate and give you specs on how deep any engraving is allowed to be. What you do with that info is up to you. I'm not going to waste my time on crap like engravings... what did you want to put on there anyway?"
"I was thinking of some Zamonan symbols, maybe some scene from our history... but you know what? I think I just got a much better idea."
"Well, what are you thinking of?" Anidan urged on. When Katzi told her, Anidan had to laugh. "Alright, I just changed my mind. If you really want to put that on there. I'll make it for you. I'll even take a real break in my off duty time so that I can concentrate on it and make it look like a work of art."
"Deal," Katzi was quick to say.
"So you don't think that the design of the arm will take that much time?" B'Elanna asked, having long since gotten used to the fact that Anidan could create things quicker, and better, than B'Elanna and Seven could on Voyager... combined.
"Not really," Anidan said with a shrug. "After all, it's not like I actually have to design a weapon. I just have to place parts in a different place. I was thinking of using a standard Borg hand phaser as a base and move the parts around to make it work. You know... since I have the length of the lower arm to play with, I can actually use more power cells than the one that is used in a standard phaser. Maybe four, or even five. Which means, clearly, that the arm weapon will have about four or five times as many shots as a standard phaser."
Thinking about it for a moment, Anidan continued. "Hmm, I guess I could also go the other way, use the room to use a weapon that is more powerful than the standard phaser."
"Personally, I think you're on the right track to use the standard phaser," B'Elanna said. Yes, Anidan overshadowed B'Elanna easily with her abilities, but that didn't mean that B'Elanna stopped having ideas. Even now, with the knowledge of Anidan at their disposal, B'Elanna's ideas had brought more than one solution. And if not the solution, at least gave Anidan the idea to work with.
"See, if we know upfront that the situation is unsecure, then the guards can take phaser rifles or disrupters, or any of the hundreds of hands weapons we have at our disposal; heavy weapons taken care of. But, if we are trapped somewhere and have to fight it out, the extra energy cells can be very convenient. Because of those extra cells the guards could hold off threats for five times as long as someone with a standard hand phaser, or even a phaser rifle. After all, a phaser rifle has about as many shots as a hand phaser, just that the shots are more powerful."
Anidan nodded her agreement "Good point. I'll stick to the standard phaser strength with more energy cells."
Then she looked at Katzi when she realized something. "Actually, I just lied; the cover plate has to be about a centimeter longer than I just said it would. With the talk about the weapon I forgot the access tubes also still have to come out somewhere, might as well also put those under the cover and have the cover open if either the weapon or the tubes are used."
Looking at Seven, Anidan added, "My Queen, it really shouldn't be too hard to make. I see actually only two problems and one of those isn't even mine. The first problem is that I will have to come up with some kind of 'trigger' that allows the drone to fire the weapon without having to push some button. It'll have to be a mental command, kinda like the command to activate the access tubes. I have no idea yet how to do that, but I'm sure that it will come to me when I'm building the thing. The second problem is the normal body armor. If the drone is using the normal body armor, it's kinda hard to shoot. Not even only because of the fact that the body armor over the arm prevents the weapon from getting out of the arm, but also because of the not so small fact that the body armor is created for the exact purpose of stopping phaser and disruptor shots. In fact, the drone's own body armor would stop the drone's shot from actually reaching the enemy. But, as I said, that's not my problem. The body armor has to be adapted for that... unless you want the guards to waste time by having to pull up the sleeve of the body armor."
"And give a potential enemy all the time and warning that they are going to do something," B'Elanna added.
"I am sure a solution for the body armor will be found," Seven assured. There was no doubt in her mind that the man that had single handedly created the body armor would be able to solve something as simple as this small problem.
"You know, that whole implant thing isn't half as bad," Katzi said. "Well, apart from the whole arm removal thing."
"That's because you are choosing it and didn't have it done against your will," Anidan said with a trace of resentment in her tone.
"Anidan is correct," Seven agreed. "While you and other new drones will see the implants as an opportunity or even simply convenience, for us... we see it as a violation. For drones like Anidan and me the implants are something that was done to us against our will, something Anidan and I decided to live with now because we know that we are now in a position of preventing others having to go through what we have gone through."
"But the changes we are making will make it at least a little bit easier for old drones to deal with it," B'Elanna said. "The new implants at least bring the visual back to looking like their normal body, and the changes we have made in how drones are brought back into Individualist stage are already paying off. The councilors have really worked out well and most drones do indeed willingly stay as Individual drones. But, yeah, I eventually see a stage coming where people actually simply join the Borg to get implants. Which isn't a bad thing by itself. Even I have been thinking about getting some Borg modifications. We just have to make sure that people don't join just to get our weapons or armor. But, the mind scan everyone that gets onto Unimatrix 01 has to go through should take care of that. We can simply extend that later to wherever someone wants to join the Borg, they get scanned."
"And of course, don't let drones leave the Collective with certain implants when their time in the Borg is up," Anidan added. "Like the weapon arm. We leave the artificial arm, obviously, but we take out the weapon. Maybe put in some very convenient tools to make up for the fact that at one point they gave their arm to serve the Borg."
"You want to get implants?" Seven asked B'Elanna surprised, not at all forgetting that B'Elanna had just mentioned that so casually.
"Yeah, I was kinda thinking about it lately. Sorry about bringing it up here baby. I really wanted to talk to you about it, it just slipped out now because I was using it as an example."
"What implants were you thinking about?" Seven asked.
"Nothing too radical," B'Elanna assured. "More like stuff that is pretty much standard for a new drone anyway. You know, the nanoprobes. The Duranium layer on the bones, which is done by the nanoprobes anyway. The enhanced hearing. Again, nothing too serious since that is nothing more than an amplifier being put between the ears and the brain. Um, what else? Oh, the neck implant of course, if for nothing more than the fact that I then can actually wear the force-field body armor should the situation ever call for it. And now that Anidan has perfected it, the Borg transmitter. I really like the idea that I can use it to look things up in the Hive mind, contact the computer, listen to the Borg voices actually teaching me a thing or two... but also can switch it to the private setting so that I can contact people that aren't actually standing beside me. And not to forget that I can talk to you on the private connection when you're doing your 'Borg stuff' and I'm doing my 'Borg stuff' on different parts of the ship. Oh, yeah, I definitely want that transmitter. And that's pretty much it already. Oh, no, there is one more thing, and this is a have to have. I want that." At the word 'that' B'Elanna had pointed to the implant above Seven's eye.
"Why would you want that?" Seven asked confused. "With the implant's new design this implant has become redundant."
B'Elanna smirked. "Baby, the fact that it's redundant is why I want it. You're the only one in the entire Borg Collective that has that thing because it's a part of the old eye implant. Old drones will still have the full eye implant, and the new drones and old drones that have been brought into Individualist status, have the new artificial eye. So you're the only one that has that thing. I want one too. You know, kinda showing people that we belong together. Who knows, maybe we could make it a Royal Family thing and our daughter can have it too when she's grown up."
"If she so chooses," Seven said. She and B'Elanna long since had the talk about implants for their child, and had agreed that not using implants that could be removed again would be plain stupid. But they would make sure that all implants the child would get would be implants that could be removed without leaving any damage, and only when the child was old enough to choose for herself would she get the option of choosing implants that were permanent.
"If she so chooses," B'Elanna agreed. "But Royal Family implants is something we can discuss later, let's get back to the matter at hand."
"Well, since you are talking about 'hand'," Anidan, spoke up, "I'll need a test drone to fit the arm weapon to when it's completed. Seeing that Katzi here volunteered to become a Royal Guard, I would suggest just fitting her with the new arm weapon. It's simpler than bringing a drone with a fully amputated arm into Individualist stage just so that it can do the same testing that Katzi can do."
"Which also brings us to the point that started this whole conversation," Seven said. "We do not even know if Katzi would be accepted as a Royal Guard. I suggest we find that out first. Katzi, final decision; do you want us to suggest you as a Royal Guard candidate?"
"My Queen, that decision was already final for me. Yes."
"Very well, I will suggest your name now," Seven said, never having left the Collective since she linked to it earlier on in the conversation. A second of silence, and then Seven smiled. "It seems that adding your name is not necessary. You are one of the people suggested by the Borg for the position."
"I am?" Katzi asked, proud to hear that apparently the Borg felt that she was so well suited for the job.
"Even though she hasn't been a part of the Collective yet, except for the regenerating?" Anidan asked surprised.
"Even so. The regenerating has been enough; her mind was scanned, her ideas were evaluated. Katzi is the fourth name on the list of suggested drones. Even though there are more than enough drones that have physical advantages over Katzi, the Hive feels that those physical advantages will be equaled out by the implants. It is Katzi's mental conditioning that makes her a suitable candidate, especially her life's ambition."
"So I got the Job?" Katzi asked, hope written all over her face.
Seven looked at B'Elanna whose answer was a small nod. Looking back to Katzi Seven said. "You got the job, as you call it. Katzi of the Erdania Village, as of now your Borg Designation is Katzi of Erdania Village, Royal Guard drone one. Be advised that as of now you fall outside the chain of command and only answer to One of Many and Two of Many. Your sole task is the protection of One of Many and Two of Many..." Seven looked at B'Elanna for a second and mouthed 'sorry' before looking back at Katzi and adding, "...in that order."
A warm hand on her leg told Seven that the 'sorry' wasn't needed.
"Congratulations," B'Elanna said to Katzi, at the same time squeezing Seven's leg reassuringly. Then she looked at Seven just to be sure and Seven gave her a small nod to indicate that B'Elanna could bring up what she and Seven had talked about earlier that day when they were discussing the creation of Royal Guards.
"She is suited for that part of the task as well, and I have no objection," Seven said. For a moment confusing the hell out of Katzi and Anidan.
"Um, should I..." Anidan asked, pointing over her back at the door. Offering once again to leave.
"Not needed. Besides, we'll probably need your input again soon anyway," B'Elanna assured before looking back at Katzi. "Katzi, there will be four Royal Guards so that if needed an armed square can be formed around Seven and me; giving protection and fire coverage from all sides. Both the Borg and us feel that four guards is enough because if more security is needed, tens, hundreds, thousands, hell millions, of 'guards' can be created by activating drones and having them equipped with a weapon. The Royal Guards are mainly for situations that seem secure but suddenly turn out not to be. Like... well, let's say the negotiations we had with your Zamonan Queen. The situation was secure, but there's always a chance that someone will suddenly pull a weapon, or shoot an arrow, or throw a knife. As I said, that's why there are four Royal Guards, but there are two main posts in the Royal Guard and we're hoping that you'll take one of them."
B'Elanna hesitated for a moment to think which position she should mention first. "The second specific task is the advanced planning of situations. If it's known where Seven and I are going to, this Royal Guard will be the one that plans the preliminary scans, decides if, and how many, extra drones are needed to secure safety. Because this task requires advanced tactical insight the drone that gets that job will undergo special training. If you want, you can be that drone, after having finished the training. But Seven and I were hoping that you would be interested in the first special task. Seven and I know that we'll have to let our guards close in order for them to do their job right. We talked about that when the Borg informed us that they would prefer that we did indeed have a Royal Guard. We also decided that, to make sure that we do at least still have some privacy left, we will select one of the guards that we'll choose every time one of the Guards would be witness to a very private part of our life; a private Royal Guard if you will. This so that our private life is at least only seen by one single other person, and not a different drone every day. We would appreciate it if you would be willing to take that position."
"What exactly do you mean with 'very private part'?" Katzi asked. "Are you talking about being inside your quarters when you're visiting somewhere while the rest secure the outside, or something else?"
"Basically, as private as one can get," Seven said. "If B'Elanna and I are not on Unimatrix 01, you will indeed be with us in the room at all times, every minute of the day. If we do leave Unimatrix 01 you will not have any 'off duty' time until we return to Unimatrix 01. You will never leave our side then. In fact, you are on those occasions not even allowed to leave our side even if I myself ordered you to do so; a condition the Hive asked for. That means that you will be witness to extreme private things like hearing us talk, seeing us naked when we shower, and even, if B'Elanna and I feel that the situation is secure enough, you will see things like extremely private touches between B'Elanna and I, down to us making love."
"Me?" Katzi asked surprised. "I, I mean, I'm flattered. But, hell, only months ago my Princess broke my jaw for touching you, and now you want me that close?"
"It's actually partially that exact point that makes us offer you this," B'Elanna explained. "You see, we don't just need someone that we feel comfortable with; we also need someone that is comfortable with us. We need someone that doesn't cringe when Seven and I kiss, or if I happen to swat her ass playfully. And we need someone that doesn't become uncomfortable when she happens to hear one of us scream out the name of the other. But the problem is that as much as we need that, we also need someone that doesn't get distracted. That can see us naked, but still can focus on her surroundings. And on top of that, also is comfortable with Seven and my banter. Of course, we don't know you that well, yet, but we've seen you with Pagsha, have seen how you smile when we tease Pagsha. We have a feeling that you wouldn't mind the same kind of bantering."
"I wouldn't," Katzi assured. Then she nodded. "Such private and complete guarding is what I would want to do. I promise you that you'll get nothing but absolute professionalism from me." She added that last part to make it absolutely sure that she would be professional and not use the opportunity to enjoy some nice scenes.
"We are glad to hear that," Seven assured. "As already mentioned, if we are away from Unimatrix 01 and even if the situation seems secure, you will still be stationed inside the room with us. Besides that, here on Unimatrix 01, you will be spending your entire on duty time with us unless we excuse you. Whereas the other three guards will do something else during their on duty time here on Unimatrix 01. As already mentioned, you will see things, hear things... in short, you will become part of our lives. That means that we will also ask things of you that have nothing to do with guard duty, but simply because you happen to be there."
"Yeah," B'Elanna added with a grin, making a small show of looking at Katzi's arms. "Can't expect us to lift heavy stuff ourselves when we have you with us, now can you?"
Then B'Elanna became serious again. "Believe me, we won't be using you as some glorified servant; Seven and I long since agreed that we don't want people around us that do every little damn thing for us. On the other side, I won't hesitate to ask you if you can get us some drinks if Seven and I and someone else are planning stuff again and you're just standing around anyway."
"I have no problem doing small things like that for people that are busy while I'm not," Katzi assured.
"Alright then," B'Elanna said with a nod before asking a final time, "Do you think you can handle being that kind of personal guard, or would you prefer if we chose one of the other drones to be that special guard?"
"I shall do whatever you require of me, My Princess, with the exception of commands that endanger your safety. If you give me the privilege of being your most personal guard, please also give me the trust to believe that I know what I'm doing, and believe me when I assure you that I think a situation is not safe. Please, don't put me in a position where I have to fight you to keep you safe."
"You have been studying up on Klingons, haven't you?" B'Elanna asked, crossing her arms and sitting back.
"I have," Katzi agreed. "A proud species of warriors, known for their tendency to bring the fight to their enemies... which is not something I would allow you to do."
"Allow?" B'Elanna asked with a growl.
Katzi took a deep breath, knowing that her next words could ruin everything, but also knowing that if she didn't say them, she would never be able to do her job right. "Yes, My Princess. Allow. As I said, please don't put me in a situation where I have to fight you to keep you safe. If need be, I would overpower you and bring you to safety. You might hate me for it, but the fact would be that you would still be alive so that you have the opportunity to hate me."
"You know something?" B'Elanna said with a growl, only to grin a moment later. "I think we'll get along just fine."
"I'm glad to hear that, My Princess," Katzi said with a small smile, but the relief was clear to see on her face.
"Katzi," Seven said when she heard the woman address B'Elanna. "Considering your new position, please call me Seven off duty, or when we are alone, and Two of Many B'Elanna."
Looking quickly to her side and Anidan sitting there, Katzi said hesitantly, "Yes... My Queen."
"And when we're in company of people that also call us by our first name when we're alone, right Anidan?" B'Elanna added.
"Right, B'Elanna," The Engineer said with a grin. Looking back at Katzi she asked, "So Royal Guard drone one, when would you like to get those implants?"
"Now?" Katzi merely said.
"Well, I did say that I could probably have the design for the arm ready in a couple of hours," Anidan said with a frown. "If Lonika started on the rest first, we can do the arm last. That'll give me about eight hours; that should do it. If the creation of the weapon really goes as smoothly as I hope then I could even have the time to create that cover I promised."
"Katzi, don't you want to talk this through with Pagsha first, or just think about it a little longer?" B'Elanna asked.
"Pagsha loves being part of the Borg, she'll have no problem with me also being a part of the Borg," Katzi said with a certain voice.
Then she was quiet for a moment before lowering her head a little. "Besides, if she can't understand why I have to do this, if she can't understand that this is my life's ambition... then we don't have a chance for the long run anyway."
"And what exactly is your life's ambition?" B'Elanna asked, wondering how an ambition that the woman had for her whole life could make her suited to be such an important part of the Borg.
Continued...