Chapter 55
The reign of One of Many, née Annika Hansen; Queen of Borg.
Year 01, Month 10, Day 01, Hour 14, Minute 31.
"It's beautiful," Pagsha said as she looked out over the ocean. Then she turned back to look at the group she was with. Seven and B'Elanna were talking to Queen Erda and Regent Dasia of Zamona. While the rest of the group existed out of Katzi and Anidan and Si'zaG. The three of which were standing closer to Pagsha than the Queens as they waited for the royals to finish their talks. Besides them, the Royal Guards of both sides were there as well, but mostly because it was tradition or mandatory. Both sides understood that they weren't really needed. Something that was further proven by the fact that Katzi, who was also a Royal Guard after all, was considered part of the visiting group and not the guard detail.
Katzi placed an arm around her lover's shoulder. "I never been here before, but Regent Dasia always insisted that the southern part of her province was the most beautiful."
"Then why not settle the village here?" Pagsha asked as she turned further and took in the beautiful nature surrounding them.
"Several reasons," Katzi said before naming a few. "First, beautiful nature is great if you want to enjoy the scenery, but the grounds up north are much better suited to sustain a village. We have the grain fields up there and grain would hardly grow on the ground down here. Don't be fooled by all this lush nature. All of these plants, including the trees, are plants that are specialized in living on grounds that are not that rich in nutrients and a bit acidic on top of it. Plus up north there are more natural resources to be found because we are closer to the mountains. Iron, copper, the salt caves. And it's not like it's bad living up there. In fact, down here a lot of days would be too hot to do the work that needs doing in a living village."
"But for a vacation location hot is good. A fun excuse for another swim," Si'zaG said. Having spent most of her life in fluidic space she loved to swim. 'Like a fish in water', B'Elanna had called it once on the Holodeck. To which Si'zaG had laughed and said, 'no, Like a Siill in fluidic space'.
"True," Katzi agreed. "But there's an even more important reason. Even if the weather patterns of this planet would change, even if natural resources would all dry up, even if every other village on this planet would be deserted for some reason. We Zamonan would never abandon that village. Erdania Village was the place where the Zamonan nation was formed. It was the village that other villages joined as the Nation started to grow. Erdania is the heart of all that is Zamonan. Sure over the centuries every hut has been replaced, and the look has changed as well. It's not like we keep all exactly how it once was. The village should be suited to live in; that's the honorable reminder to history. But still, even people that never saw it, which are actually most Zamonan, would gladly give their life to defend it."
"Unimatrix 01 on village scale," Anidan said.
Katzi shook her head. "No, the Borg are willing to sacrifice Unimatrix 01 if it's truly needed. No, it's more like the spirit of the First Family personified into a village."
"You are part of that First Family now," Anidan reminded.
Katzi merely smiled.
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"I am glad that you do not object to us visiting from time to time," Seven said as she strolled along at Queen Erda's side. "As you know, when B'Elanna and I were here on our Vacation with Voyager we actually spent most of our free time in Erdania Village. I also appreciate the fact that you assured us that whenever we stay here we are also welcome to visit Erdania Village. But we also spent quite some time here where Voyager had been landed. It is a beautiful place and we loved our stay here."
"Seven," Queen Erda said, both of them having agreed long ago to do away with formal talk with the exception of the few occasions where it was needed in negotiations. Though this might be only the second time they met in person as Queens, they had formed a good relationship over viewscreen and talked regularly. "Please be assured that we welcome your presence here. You did so much for us, for my people. Our agreement has worked out better than I could have even wished for."
Erda took a moment to look at the tall Zamonan that was in a discussion with some of the others in the group. She had only heard of the woman recently. One of the countless Zamonan warriors that dreamed of becoming a Royal Guard. 'Ironic', She thought, 'She grew up wanting to protect me, and now she would gladly take my life if that was needed to protect her Queen.' Then she chuckled. Well, the mountain of muscles had definitely picked the right Queen. At least now she saw something of the Universe. 'And even found a family on top of that', she added when the words of the other conversation drifted over to her.
"What happened to the parents of your guard?" Erda asked, deliberately using the word 'your' to make it very clear that Zamonan or not, she was not laying a claim to loyalty of the tall woman.
"Katzi, what happened to your parents?" Seven asked a little louder than the level she had been talking at.
Katzi looked over her shoulder and merely said, "I never had any. The Village was my parents."
"Ah," Erda said. When Seven looked at her, she explained. "As you might know, we consider being Mates very important. But being Mates is not a life commitment. You stay together as long as you want to. Some people stay together for their entire life. But some of these bonds stay together long enough and are happy long enough to decide to have a child, before drifting apart. It happens often enough that the parents decide to split up not long after. Sometimes they both keep holding an interest in the child, sometimes only one of them. But sometimes both of them decide that they don't want a child in their life. In situations like this they hand the child, and the responsibility, over to the village. All the people in the village become something of parents then. Teach them what's right and wrong if they see the child doing something wrong. Teach them a profession if the child shows an interest."
"Did you never look for them?" Pagsha wondered, realizing that her lover had never talked about her parents in any way.
"We never do," Katzi explained. "If your parents gave you up it's clear that they didn't want any contact with you. So why bother looking for them? If they want to get back in contact they know where they left you." Katzi shrugged. "For all I know my parents might live in the village I grew up in and I have been interacting with them my entire life. You could say that with Zamonan the ties between parents and children are as easily broken as it is between Mates. For us society is much more important than individual ties. You may not know who your parents are, but every Zamonan is a sister to you."
Katzi placed a kiss on her lover's head. "Don't worry, I have no intention of introducing our daughter to that particular Zamonan custom. Her ties with her parents will be very strong."
"You have a daughter?" Dasia asked surprised. "But how, you... you weren't gone long enough."
"B'Elanna and I are the biological parents of our daughter," Seven explained. "I am the birth mother. However, Pagsha and Katzi are part of our family. As such our daughter is their daughter as well. In other words, Vasha Borg has four mothers and we make no distinction between just which one of them has a biological connection to her."
"Hmm, interesting," Erda said before smiling and adding, "So the next Borg Queen is even a Zamonan. We truly do have a big part in the Borg."
Before anyone of her family could ask, Katzi explained. "If you are family of a Zamonan you are considered a Zamonan, whether you have blood connections or not... as long as you are a woman of course."
"Doesn't that make us Zamonan as well?" B'Elanna asked amused.
"Now that you mention it; it does," Katzi agreed. "Sorry, I never made the connection before Queen Erda just made the reference."
They stepped out of the trees and onto the open place where Voyager had once stood. "Well then, seeing how much we Zamonan are part of the Borg Royal Family, I think it's only fair if part of Zamona would be seen as home to the Royal Family. After all, for every Zamonan home is Zamona."
Seven opened her mouth, but Erda lifted her hand. "I know that Unimatrix 01 is your home. But that doesn't mean that you can't have a home away from home. You would honor us greatly if you would consider a part of Zamona your second home. Since you like this place so much, and we Zamonan have never used it for any duration of time because it isn't fit to sustain a permanent settlement, please accept this location as a gift to the First Family."
"A gift to the Borg Collective which happens to be used by the First Family," Katzi corrected. "They are very precise about things like that."
Erda dipped her head. "Of course. A good approach. So let me correct myself. Please, do accept this location and all within a day's walk from here as Borg territory from now on. I merely ask that the same rules are followed that are followed on the planets you terraformed for us."
"Oh, I think we could be persuaded to make sure that nature is respected here," B'Elanna assured. "Just a couple of cabins really. But are you sure?"
"Positive," Erda insisted. "That way you can also come by at any time without having to make many arrangements. Since it's Borg territory then you can simply beam down whenever you want. I think we will notice your ship hanging in space soon enough so you wouldn't even have to let us know that you are coming. Unless you need to speak to me of course."
"You have some excellent arguments," Seven said, basically accepting for them. None of them felt that it was the right place to point out that technically all of Zamonan territory was Borg territory these days. "I accept your gift in name of the Borg Collective. Thank you."
Dasia pointed in the direction of the ocean. "When Voyager was here you set up a sonic fence in the ocean. Are you planning to do the same this time? If so you might want to look into some permanent structure that can be switched on and off."
"No need," B'Elanna assured as she pointed up at the sky, indicating the starship up there that was bigger than two of Zamona's three moons. "Whenever we leave Unimatrix 01 we're under constant transporter lock. We'll use that. We simply have sensors scan the area constantly and then have them beam any dangerous animal away from us when they come too close. Just far enough so that they'll still recognize the smells and signs of the territory they're living in."
Erda nodded, glad to hear it. "Very well. Now please allow me to change the subject. And I want to make it clear that I'm truly changing the subject and that the following is not in any way connected to us offering part of our world as a home for you."
Seven merely nodded slightly.
"You see, I have a niece," Erda started. "A nice girl but sadly not suited for... well much really. I swear, if you ask her to carry three eggs across the room she will forget one, break the second, and then ask you why she's carrying one egg across the room again."
"A mental handicap?" Seven asked.
"Sadly, no," Erda sighed. "Our doctors assure me that she's perfectly alright. Do you know that we Zamonan believe that there must be a balance in nature? My niece proves it."
Erda reached into a pouch hanging from her belt and produced a piece of paper. She handed it to Seven who realized that it was a picture. Seven's eyes widened and she reluctantly handed the image to her Mate.
"Katzi is a member of my family," Seven said as B'Elanna passed the picture on, "But I think that she will not be offended but instead agree with me when I say that your niece is the most gorgeous Zamonan I have ever seen."
Erda nodded. "I agree. And you just see a two dimensional image of her. In real life she looks even better. And her voice. She has a voice that could make a wet dream sit up and take notes on how it's done right. But remember that balance I talked about and now guess what her brain is like."
Seven winced slightly.
"At the moment her looks are her living," Erda explained. "Meaning that she doesn't really have to take care of herself because there's always someone eager to be her Mate. It never lasts though. After a few weeks, a few months at most, they realized that a hot body is great, but you are better off having an average looking Mate that can actually carry a conversation and that isn't so stupid that she forgets to eat. I'm not kidding; that does happen sometimes. I fear for her. Sooner or later she will get a Mate who wants more of her than merely her body and that will start abusing her. And if not that, what will happen later? When her looks leave her and nobody wants to be Mated with such an idiot. Don't get me wrong, I love her dearly, but she 'is' an idiot."
"You want her to join the Borg," Seven said. "You hope that our implants will help." She nodded. "They might. Or it might be a medical problem that is beyond the Zamonan medical field and that implants are not even needed. But I do not see why you do not simply have her enter one of the Borg representative buildings and join in the normal way?"
"Ah, and there is where the real problem lies," Erda sighed. She accepted the picture that was handed back to her and put it away. "We tried explaining the Borg and that they can help her. But she simply doesn't understand the concept of the Borg. Her mothers tried explaining it several times, I was there once and, really, they were using small words. And in the end she asked, 'so what you are saying is that they don't live in this province? And help me with what again'?"
"You want us to give her implants without her consent," B'Elanna said in understanding. "We do our damn hardest to stay away from situations like that. We don't accept people that can't truly make the choice themselves."
"You don't?" Erda asked. "You take in the outcasts from every species that comes knocking. You honestly want to tell me that there was never a single case in which family members assured your recruiters that someone really wanted to join the Borg but that expressing that want is now not possible. There are always exceptions."
Startled by her own forceful words, Erda apologized. "Forgive me my bluntness. As I said, I do fear for her and I don't want her to lose her chance merely because she doesn't understand things like what 'implant' means."
"What we could do," Seven said slowly while thinking about the problem. "We could have our doctors look at her here on the planet, visit her village. Maybe it is something simple that is easy to cure on the spot. If not then we can go a step further and give her removable implants, including temporary links to external devices that mimic the function of brain implants, including the replacement of parts of the brain. That is what I offer you. I am willing to approve temporary measures if they are needed. And then if she is able to make a free and informed choice, then it will be her choice and we will respect the outcome. If she wants to stay with the Borg then we will give her permanent implants. If she wants the implants but not join then we will do so and wave the contract and have the Zamonan pay us back in some way."
"Pay you back?" Erda asked.
"I do not mind bending the rules I make on occasion," Seven explained. "I do know that it is needed sometimes. Most species in the Borg had a saying before assimilation that went along the lines of, 'rules exist to be broken'. It is impossible for rules to apply to each situation, especially on a scale like the Borg where millions of situations are happening every hour. So I prefer to bend rules if needed. Because the more you accept that sometimes rules need to be bent, the less you need to actually break rules. I do not break rules if I can prevent it in any way because that way the rules are still there and still in tact."
"Just a little bent," B'Elanna added. "And the only danger there is that it's easier to bend them a second time. But still better then completely breaking them."
"Indeed," Seven agreed before giving a suggestion on how the bending could be done this time. "The agreement was that a Zamonan that receives implants will serve in the Borg Collective for one year. If your niece receives implants and does not serve, then we demand that year of service from someone else."
Seven gave one of her rare and small smirks. "Katzi's contract with the Borg has ended some time ago and she is now staying because she wants to. But she is no longer under contract. I believe that it is safe to say that Katzi would be willing to enter into a new one year contract with the Borg where she performs the job she is performing now. Maybe a little present for her former Queen?"
A low chuckle from the tall Zamonan was all the answer that was needed.
"I see, bending the rules, not breaking them," Erda said in understanding.
"However," Seven said before the Zamonan Queen could say more. "If your niece has the temporary implants and then states clearly that she does not want to join the Borg or receive any implants permanently, then the temporary implants will be removed and she will be returned to the planet unchanged."
"Thank you," Erda said sincerely. "That's all I want, that she can make a choice and understand what she's choosing about. If she declines then... so be it. How, how big are the chances of that happening? Her being able to understand her choice?"
"I am not a doctor, nor have I examined your niece," Seven reminded. "However from past experience I can with almost absolute certainty assure you that she will be able to make that choice. But there is something you should keep in mind, and you should warn her parents as well. If she takes the implants then she 'will' change. She will remember you, but she will not be the woman you knew. Personalities change when rational thinking and extraordinary deduction abilities are introduced. You say that you love her dearly, it might be that you end up not being able to stand her."
Erda smiled. "If that happens I'll be glad to unfortunately always be too busy to see her. I'll gladly never see her again while knowing that she can take care of herself, over seeing her often and knowing every time that she won't be alright."
"And if she wants to join the Borg?" Seven asked.
Erda smiled again. "Then I can only wish that she'll be as lucky as your guard was and finds her destiny."
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"So what do you think?" B'Elanna asked Anidan and Si'zaG once the Zamonan party had left.
"I think it's a great place," Si'zaG assured, which was followed by an agreeing nod from her Mate.
"Great, so where do you want your cabin?" B'Elanna asked with a grin. "But I claim this spot here for the First Family's cabin." B'Elanna looked out over the ocean and then turned to look into the forest. "Oh yeah, right here."
"A cabin?" Anidan asked.
"Sure," B'Elanna affirmed. "This is basically the same as the holodeck. We love to have people around, just that we also love to do things we don't want others to see or hear."
"And in that regard," Seven said as she joined them together with Katzi and Pagsha. "Since this is a real location and not a holodeck, you might want to pick a spot that is a little away. To also have some sound privacy when we... separate to pursue more personal fun."
"Are you sure you want us here?" Anidan persisted. "I mean, I wouldn't mind and you know how much Si'zaG loves the water. But you won't come here for just a few hours. Nor can you throw up some convenient holographic wall for privacy. Are you sure you want to restrain yourself for entire days and just pursue personal fun, as you call it, at night."
"We enjoy your company," Seven assured. "Besides, we do not have to restrain ourselves all the time; you do. You could not care less if we had sex right in front of you. At most you might get bored because we are not talking to you and are busy doing something else. So as far as that is concerned you are a lot like our guards. We have made love several times with them in the room because we know that once they are linked, which they were then, we can ignore them because all that is considered irrelevant is filtered out and even they themselves will not remember what their eyes might have seen. So if urges become too much for us, we can give in on the spot. It is you who cannot."
"No we can't," Anidan agreed. "The raunchy lot of you would enjoy the show way too much."
B'Elanna laughed. "True. Come on, it'll be fun. Tell you what, we'll try to restrain ourselves if you and/or Si'zaG are with us. But if temptation does become too much for us you just leave to go do stuff you actually find interesting. On the flip side, we promise to not make any remarks when you and your Mate disappear to your cabin suddenly."
"Oh so you get to fool around in the forest, on the beach, and in the water, and we are stuck in the cabin," Anidan said while crossing her arms. But her friends knew her well enough to realize that the answer was actually an agreement to the idea of spending time there with the First Family when they went for a little vacation.
Si'zaG kissed her Mate's shoulder and took her in a hug from behind. "My love is right. It's really fun to make love in a liquid, if you know how to do it."
"How about those rocks over there?" Pagsha suggested as she pointed across the small cove that was to the side of where they were standing. The cove had been the place where a lot of the Voyager crew had preferred to swim back then because the water was calmer there. "See how behind those rocks the beach curls around and out of view?"
She made a sweeping motion with her arm across the horizon. "We could consider all of this open territory where we all can have fun... normal fun I mean and maybe do other fun as well. Then we even have that cove of calmer water where we can go and play with Vasha, or just lie on a float in calm water. But we won't go further than those rocks, and the area after them we consider Anidan and Si'zaG's personal territory where they can go to if they want some time alone, no matter why they want that time for. We only go there if they invite us over."
B'Elanna nodded her agreement. "Good idea. And there's enough forest on that outcrop there for you to enjoy a little bit of forest for yourself as well. Because it's on that outcrop we can't wander into it without noticing it if we decide to take a stroll in the forest."
Giving in completely, Anidan pointed. "Then how about that spot over there for our cabin? It's closer to our territory while still being in shouting distance from your cabin. Plus over there we'll have a great view over the cove."
Seven guessed the spot to be about two minutes walking distance away from where they were standing. She dipped her head in approval of the suggestion.
"What are we going to do with our friends here?" Katzi asked as she pointed to the rest of the Royal Guards. "The deal is where you go, they go. Vacation spot or not."
B'Elanna left out a breath of air in a rush and scratched her head. "Now that's a tough one. It doesn't seem fair to have them standing around all the time as linked drones when we're here. They may be our guards, but they're people too, and it simply isn't fair to have them not enjoy their time while being in a place like this. More so exactly because they are our guards. They can't plan normal vacations like anyone else on Unimatrix 01. They need to be where we are. Maybe they should be able to enjoy one of those vacation spots as their own vacation spot. On the other hand, while we're comfortable with them around linked, I really don't think that we want them running around while not linked. I for one don't want to start wearing bathing clothes again simply because one of the guards might see us. But, Katzi is right, the deal is that where Seven goes, they go. So?"
"Maybe we can compromise," Anidan suggested. "Queen Rena gave the Collective a territory the size of a day's walk in any direction from where we're standing now. We have an active sensor scan going as it is so we know if a Humanoid enters this territory. And on top of that, no matter how far away they are, with our Borg link they're still only a proverbial shout away. Maybe they could have their own cabin further in that direction there."
She pointed down the beach in the other direction of the cove. "Far enough away that we won't bump into them accidentally if we're out on a stroll, yet close enough that they can still reach us in a decent amount of time if by some miracle all Borg technology suddenly failed and Unimatrix 01 suddenly can't beam us up anymore."
"It's still stretching the 'accompany Seven at all times' thing to the extreme," Pagsha noted.
"Yeah, I know," Anidan agreed. "But come on. We have Unimatrix 01 right above us which has an ongoing scan on all of us. Plus we have an otherwise deserted area and we won't even beam you down if a Humanoid is found in the area when we arrive. Plus we can place a permanent scanner here with its own power source. We can build it right into the cabin. That way the place would even be monitored if you're not here and before you beam down you can check if anyone was here and might have tampered with the place."
"Plus we still have one guard with us," Pagsha said as she lifted her lover's hand; a not so subtle reminder that Katzi actually had a beam weapon build into her arm and was literally armed every second of the day.
Then she pointed at Si'zaG. "And a Siill. Si'zaG might not be a warrior, but she's still strong enough to rip most humanoids in half, literally with a lot of species. And she's immune to phasers, and she can walk through force fields, and she can fight to protect."
She then indicated B'Elanna. "And let's not forget that one of the people that is normally guarded is by now such a skilled fighter that she herself could function as a guard."
They started to walk down to the water's edge, not really sure who had taken the first step.
"We have good arguments," Seven noted. "And we should incorporate the security measures like the permanent scan. But you know what I think we should do as well?"
"Let me guess," B'Elanna said while rolling her eyes. "You think that since this is Borg territory, other Borg should be able to use it as well. Just because it's a vacation spot for us doesn't mean that others can't use it if we aren't here."
"You are very correct," Seven agreed. "We can have our personal cabins that are only to be used by us, and we can have a cabin... a few cabins... that are only to be used by the guards and family. But we could also have some cabins that are set a little further into the forest that are to be used by other Borg if we are not visiting. Just that when we are visiting than we will be the only Borg here and they have to find their entertainment elsewhere."
"Wouldn't that mean that we have to do what we didn't want?" Pagsha asked. "Wasn't part of the reason to have a vacation place on Zamona that we could go there if the mood strikes us, without many arrangements? If other people can use this place as well, you need to let them know when we plan to be here so that they can make plans. And just who will be allowed to vacation here? You don't want it to be
too crowded, so that by definition means that only a few people can come here."
B'Elanna took of her shoes and socks and started to walk through the water. "I think I have the perfect answer for both. How about we make vacationing here a reward? Something that is given to people for some achievement, something that the Hive feels that needs rewarding. We let them make the choice. And then if we come here and people are here on vacation? Well if we come here, we do it with Unimatrix 01. So we simply let them play on the Royal Holodeck while we're here. I mean, it's just like that whole thing about being selected for one of the professions, like the ATSD. The Royal Holodeck is only used by us and the Senior staff and whichever family and friends they bring along. So imagine this conversation."
She hit Katzi against her arm with the back of her hand and then started to say with an excited voice. "So I was given some time on Zamona at the Royal resort for what I did." Another hit. "But oh then it got even better. The Queen showed up for a vacation and we were allowed to have use of the Royal Holodeck for the duration of their vacation on Zamona." Another hit. "Can you believe it? I've actually been on Unimatrix 01, and I even had my vacation in the Royal holodeck." Another hit. "Can you believe that?"
Katzi captured her friend's hand on the next travel to the arm. "If you hit me again I'll rip your hand off."
"You and what army?" B'Elanna asked with a grin. "Remember, I'm Princess of Borg. Mine is bigger then yours."
"Your what?" Katzi countered. "Your army or your ego?"
Before B'Elanna could react, Seven interrupted. "Stop playing children. Knowing you, one of you will be pushed into the water in the next few minutes."
B'Elanna gave her lover a playful push, away from the water actually since B'Elanna was closer. But that was just details. "So what? The water is nice and warm."
Seven moved quickly and lifted her lover up. Not caring in the least about her shoes, she walked into the water until it almost touched her leather skirt, which was halfway down her thigh and dumped the by now squealing Klingon into the water.
"Phe thep. You just wait until I get my hands on you woman," B'Elanna growled as she surfaced and wiped the water from her face.
Seven kneeled in the water, helped her lover to a sitting position and then kissed her passionately.
"But I love your hands on me," Seven reminded once they broke apart. Then she helped B'Elanna up and they walked back to their waiting friends. Seven was not really the worse for wear, her leather Zamonan clothing didn't have many problems with getting wet. But B'Elanna's more recreational clothing was absolutely drenched and would probably need half an hour or so to dry, despite the warm weather.
"I should have worn my Zamonan clothing as well," B'Elanna said thoughtfully. "Or my uniform. That would've been even better since it repels water yet lets sweat vapor through."
"And keeps cool in warm weather, and warm in cold weather," Anidan added, who was wearing her uniform.
"I like your idea for letting people that are here stay on the holodeck instead when we come by," Seven said, getting the focus back on the subject. "Shall we see this evening what the Hive thinks?"
"We shall," B'Elanna agreed. "You know, I was thinking. If we're going to have extra cabins why not make it tree cabins? With those strong trees we could have cabins up in the trees, and have connection bridges between cabins. It would be like having a huge tree house."
"I saw something like that once on my Homeworld before the Borg came," Anidan spoke up. "It looked like fun but I wasn't allowed in them because my parents thought that I was too young." She chuckled. "Which I most definitely was back then. They had these walkways that..."
Continued...