Reboot, part 3

Posted on Sat Dec 22nd, 2012 @ 3:07pm by Lieutenant Three of Seven & Senior Chief Petty Officer Hiram Frost

Mission: Funzone
Location: Daystrom Research Institute
Timeline: 2 days later...

"Regeneration cycle complete."

The announcement wasn't so much heard as it was processed, the disembodied brain of the Ocampa child resuming a nominal level of neurological activity. It was an entire second before consciousness returned, which arrived amid a series of confusing inputs. In fact, there was so much that the drone was confused about that it was hard to determine what it ought to be confused about first.

To begin with, Three supposed, there was the fact that Three had been fairly certain that its function had ceased. And so the fact that it was waking from a regeneration cycle at all was confusing in and of itself.

Second of all, Three was laying on a flat surface with a sheet overlaying the drone's physical form. Which, again, Three was fairly certain of its physical housing having been destroyed; but, even were that not the case, Three was aware of the physical sensation of the sheet against the android body. Three could feel the texture of the fabric as the fingers and toes wiggled in a test of their mobility.

Except, Three couldn't wiggle the toes of the android feet. That level of motor articulation hadn't been part of the design...

Pushing itself up, the drone realized that it had been lying atop a medical bio-bed that had been augmented with reclaimed pieces of Borg technology. A power cable ran up one side, attached to Three right hand by way of the assimilation tubules that were located there.

That brought to light several more insights, such as the fact that the skin color palette was not that of his original body.

A full-length mirror lay just out of reach in the white room. Awkwardly, Three attempted to manipulate the unfamiliar limbs in an effort to get up from the bed. Instead, the drone wound up crumpling to the floor. The carpet felt course against the exposed flesh of the drone's body, the air cool against the skin.

Untangling its hand from the power feed that had served for its regeneration, the small Borg made several attempts at standing. Legs wobbling and sliding akimbo with each effort until the drone surrendered to gravity, instead crawled its way across the floor to see the reflection in the mirror.

And gasp at the sight.

A trembling hand reached up to feel the brown hair that framed the youthful face, wanting to touch it to ensure that it was real. Eyes staring back that were not the dull, indistinct gray but a sharp, cerulean blue. The double folds of the elf-like ears. The anatomical form of the lifelike figure in the image... It was everything Three had dismissed as being unnecessary for function, yet very much a part of what it had realized it had lost.

He.

Three had decided upon a masculine identity, a facet of individuality that the former drone often had to remind itself - himself - about, particularly as its former physical host had no gender traits. In this body, however, Three was cast as an Ocampa boy.

The image in the mirror was that of how Three might have envisioned his former life.

"This is Ocampa male design B-Four," Three remarked, startled at first at the more natural tone of the synethic voice that was produced. Mechanical blue irises shifted and focused on the reflection of a graying engineer in the top corner of the mirror as he spoke, before pausing to turn so that he was now facing the senior chief. "I was not aware that it had been put into production."

Nonchalantly, the veteran engineer had merely observed as the former Borg had awakened to its new form. Like a phoenix reborn from the ashes, this would be the Ocampa's fourth such genesis. "It wasn't until the report on the Arizona was released," Hiram remarked simply. He had a set of mustard gold engineering coveralls folded over his arms, moving to lay them on the bed before stooping down beside where the drone lay in front of the mirror. "The SCE greenlit the plans for expedited production. We wanted you to have a choice of options, but..."

"How long have I been non-operational?"

"Nine days," Hiram answered, placing his hands under the drone's arms and lifting the diminutive figure up from the floor. Despite its size and appearance, the weight of the metal in Three's frame made him heavier than he looked. Placing the drone back on the bio-bed, the engineer handed the boy the coveralls. "We took advantage of the time to perform maintenance on your organic and inorganic components, before integrating you into that body. You've been regenerating for the last twenty-four hours while your nanites assimilated the bio-neural circuitry to work with your cortical array."

Wrestling with awkwardly responding limbs and the effort at donning the outfit, the drone remarked, "You have used an organic skin compound for the exterior covering," Three commented, Hiram having to catch him before the drone fell off the bed a second time from the attempt at sliding his legs into the trousers of the one-piece outfit. "I am... having difficulty with what appears to be additional sensory input."

"The way the bio-neural circuitry is laid, you're operating with more complex input relay that works like a circulatory nervous system," Hiram explained patiently. "It will take you some time to assimilate and adapt to the functions and features of this new design."

Standing up from the bed, the senior chief made his own to a replicator recessed into the wall and returned a moment later with a red porcelain cup, which he extended out to the drone.

"It's a 'tea' that is based on the chemical composition of bio-neural gel, which is acting as both a circulatory medium and lubricant for this design," Hiram explained, seeing the confusion in the drone's face. The boy-Borg's hands explored the cup tentatively, as though in awe at the smooth texture and warmth which he could now feel for the first time. "You'll need to periodically ingest it in order to refresh the medium in your system."

Quizzically, the drone looked at the engineer and then back to the cup. While Three had observed humanoids drinking, the drone had never been capable of such an act for itself - himself. Raising the cup to his lips, Three tentatively sipped at the beverage, discovering the sensation of liquid swirling around his mouth. It was a moment before the drone had figured out how to operate the muscles at the back of the throat in order to swallow, which was itself another marvelous sensation.

"While functional, this will allow you to share in the social experience of 'dining' or drinking with others," Hiram explained, having waited to see the drone successfully imbibe the liquid. "And you'll expel waste bio-neural gel in the same way as humanoids expel urinary waste, which will give you a more human experience around others."

Blinking, the drone just looked up at the engineer for a moment as though he was uncertain he'd understood what the engineer had said. And then, the Borg just started laughing. Which was incredible in its own right.

If Three was astonished by the experience of waking up in a new body, Hiram about had a heart attack at the sound and sight of the Borg giggling. "You're laughing?" the engineer blurted aloud, incredulously. "When did you start doing that? And what's funny?" the senior chief demanded.

Between fits and giggles, the small drone looked up at the man and said, "You... You made an android that can pee?"

"Ah," the engineer said, clicking in tongue as the comment sailed home. "Well, when you put it like that... I guess it is pretty damn ridiculous," the senior chief admitted with a chuckle of his own.

After a moment of silence, the engineer rested a hand on the drone's back. "You kept my son safe," the senior chief noted somberly. "I want to thank you for that."

Looking back up at the engineer, the drone asked, "The ship... out of danger?"

"They pulled into Starbase 11 after sending you to us," Hiram stated with a nod. "Weylan vented the atmosphere in the section you were in the moment the pressure released in the EPS grid. Your body cooled before the metal fatigue could compromise the cranial compartment."

"He disobeyed orders and stayed at his post," the drone recalled, the hints of a wry smile tugging at the edges of his mouth. "You... You have a lot to be proud of," the Borg remarked seriously.

"I am," Hiram answered, clapping the drone on the back a second time. "Proud of you both, actually."

As silence overshadowed the conversation once more, the engineer added, "You know, you're welcome to stay here at the Institute."

The Borg did not answer immediately. "I have a responsibility for my Collective," Three stated finally. "I should expect to appear before a court-martial for my part in carrying out the orders of Captain Haverson."

"You did your job," the engineer commented candidly.

Had he saline ducts, Three would likely have been crying as he turned to look back up at the senior chief and say, "That was... insufficient."