“She is most interesting.”  Baron Nine, the former Borg drone, sat quietly at a console in the science department, observing the lengthy report Lieutenant Sadie Fowler was writing.

Sadie continued to add details as PADDs lay scattered around her.  “That’s one word to describe her, Baron.  We’ve just begun to ask her about her past…and how she came to be out here in the Gamma Quadrant.  Her biological readings are confusing and fascinating.”

Baron asked, “Explain.”  He stopped himself.  “My apologies, Lieutenant.  Please explain.”

She smiled, forgiving him.  “She’s clearly telepathic – powerfully so.  She can read deeply into memory without contact or permission.  That’s one part of it.  The other is that she confirms she killed her three sisters who were on the other three planets – but we don’t know how yet.  We have teams on those planets investigating, but our front-runner theory is she has the power within her mind.”

He stared at the screen, “I had that gift.  It was…intoxicating.”

Sadie remembered – he had been experimented on by the Syndicate until he had found a way to attack his captors using his mind.

Baron read the look on her face, “I do not miss it. It was…fueled by a deep anger I no longer have.  It hurt for some time to live without that rage fueling my reason to exist.  Finding a different path with the identities inside me remains my lifelong challenge.”  He returned to the screen, “Does she speak of the time before The Dominion?”

“She does. It was an idyllic time—her sisters joined her in the growth and peace of the system.”

Baron did not reply, his eyes staring at the data.  “You remarked that they will study her for years to come.  That she will never be without company.”  Sadie nodded, unsure as to where his thoughts were directed.  He continued, “I have worked through losing the connection to the Collective over time.  It is easier as it was a connection forced upon me without consent.  My mind was desperate to be free of its chains.”

Sadie was still unsure what he was trying to say, “I’m not sure I get your meaning, Baron.”

“Vocast was once part of a great family and lived a thousand years with her sisters in the Gamma Quadrant.  The company you speak of that will replace them is not enough to remedy the metaphorical hole carved out of her.”

“We can’t create another sister to replace the ones she lost.”

Baron turned to hold her gaze intensely, “Do you know this for certain?”

Sadie opened her mouth and closed it.  He was right.  She didn’t know.  They’d only begun to understand the surface details of Vocast’s biological structure.  “You seem to care a great deal about her, Baron.”

The former drone shrugged, and it remained an awkward look on him.  “I am an orphan who doesn’t know his past.  I know something is missing, something… significant.  I am aware that I can never fill that space completely, but I am trying to find connections on this ship to…as the doctor says, bandage the wound enough to stabilize.  I’ve learned much about metaphors and imagery on the Douglas.”  He gestured at the screen that displayed Vocast’s information, “She knows what she is missing…and I find it…instinctual to care about and for her.  Perhaps it is my old self asserting part of my old characteristics.  Whatever the root of it, I cannot ignore it.”

Sadie felt her guilt attempting to drag her down. She fought it and apologized, “Baron…you make an excellent point.  We can’t hope to have someone be here long term without trying everything we can to return what she lost to her…somehow.  The Dominion took a lot from the universe twice over.  We owe her the effort of trying.” Baron Nine was still thinking, and she remained silent in anticipation of his words.

“May I request to be involved in determining the feasibility of this project?”  She gave him an affirmative nod. “And if it is feasible…may I be involved in helping it be successful?  It is…as you would say, a big ask…but I am compelled to ask.”

Sadie replied, “I think that would be feasible with supervision by myself or another department head.” Baron offered his version of a smile – they were still working on it.  It felt less creepy to Sadie, and she patted him on the shoulder, “Let’s get started on putting together a team.”