Harper found herself amazed at what she saw before her. She had read about this colony briefly in a file from Starfleet on the ship before beaming down.  The file told her that this colony was only a few years old but that was not reflected in what she saw around her. The colony was well-built and was a thriving community. If she had not read about the colony’s history herself, she would have guessed this colony had been around for much longer.

As she and her team entered into the colony, heads began to turn, and they seemed to capture everyone’s attention. Almost as if her crew could read her mind, they began to holster their phaser pistols. A small little red headed girl ran up to Harper as if she was going to greet her. Harper looked down at her and smiled. The little girl giggled and then ran away. The whole interaction brought a fuzzy feeling to Harper. It had been a while since she had been around the presence of children. She liked children and they always seemed to help relieve her anxiety. She stopped for just a moment to take a look around.

Her XO, Sili must have had the same idea because she got the captain’s attention and pointed to their right. “Is it just me or does that look the main building, Cap?” Harper looked to where Sili was pointing, and she had to agree. It definitely was the biggest and most government looking building. Harper nodded her head and motioned for everyone to follow her.

The crew walked for just a few more minutes before they reached the building and were met face to face with a male denobulan. His smile seemed to take up his entire face. He smiled at Harper so long that she started to feel a little uncomfortable. Right when Harper was about to speak up and break the awkward silence, the man finally spoke.

“Greetings! My name is Delix,” the denobulan stated. “I am what some would consider the leader here. It was me who led you here. Please…please come inside.” The denobulan headed toward the building entrance and paused every few seconds to ensure that the crew was following. The crew waited for Harper’s approval before moving. She gave them a slight head nod of approval and then began following herself.

“Please, have some refreshments. As you can imagine, it has been quite some time since we have had the privilege of hosting guests. You shall be the talk of the community for some time I’m afraid,” Delix said.

“Thank you for your hospitality,” Harper stated. She wasn’t particularly hungry and was mostly just curious as to why they had been signaled here. “I don’t mean to rush or be rude, but why exactly have you called us here?” she asked.

“Ah! That matter is most particularly disturbing. I will do my best to keep the story as short and brief as possible,”Delix provided. “At the end of every year, we have what we refer to as “Inventory Day.” We take inventory of all supplies and materials and then report back to the Federation. If there are any requests that need to be made, we make them during this time. So, you can see yesterday was a very busy day for us all. It’s an “all hands-on deck approach.” Everyone gets involved so that we can get it done quickly. It wasn’t until this morning that we noticed that someone was missing. She didn’t report to work this morning and that’s not like her at all. I sent a few of our security guys by her home this morning and it appeared she was abducted,” he stated and then stopped talking abruptly.

Harper was a little too shocked by his abrupt silence to speak. Fortunately, her XO had maintained her composure. “What do you mean she was abducted? What did your guys find that led you to believe that?” Sili inquired of the denobulan.

With Sili’s words, he seemed to snap back to attention. He looked Sili in the eye, “My guys reported back to me that there was a box containing contents to be inventoried dropped to floor. They stated that the box was busted open from the bottom and papers were spilling out the bottom. Believe me, I questioned them as well. Abduction is a serious accusation to make. They also provided details that there looked to be some sort of scuffle. However, we have searched everywhere, and our friend is nowhere to be found. The only explanation is that she was taken,” Delix said.

He sounded more exasperated with every word he spoke. It was obvious to Harper that he cared deeply for the person he was speaking about. “What can you tell me about her?” Captain Harper inquired of Delix.

“Ipya is one of the most beloved members of this community. She is one of the smartest people I have ever met and the best scientist I have ever had the pleasure of working with. She takes care of everyone around here,” Delix stated sounding despondent. “We haven’t used our broadcasting equipment in some time here, but I had received a message from Starfleet that a ship would be in orbit to make repairs to the satellite. I had to see if I could reach you, for her sake.”

“Can you think of why someone would want to take her?” Sili asked.

“No, not at all. She is the sweetest person,” he started to say and then paused. He turned his head to the left as in contemplation and then began speaking again. “Oh, it couldn’t be! There is one thing. I hadn’t thought of it until now. Ipya is a Bajoran….and a liberated borg.”

Harper blinked a few times. In fact, she probably blinked so much that it was borderline obnoxious. Had she heard correctly? “A liberated borg, you say?”

“Yes. She needed a job and faced many different discriminations. She came here to us, and she fit right in. We offered her a job and she’s been here ever since. We don’t see her as an ex-borg when we look at her, so it slipped my mind to tell you about it, honest.” Delix seemed to be even more worried now. “Please tell me that that has nothing to do with her being taken.”

“I wish that I could,” Harper replied. “Do you have any idea where whoever has taken her might have gone?”

“No, but we were able to pick up readings showing that signatures transported off the planet late yesterday afternoon. We were unable to trace ii back any further than that. Please say you will help us,” Delix asked.

Harper didn’t know what she had expected to find when the team transported down but this most certainly had not crossed her mind. This was very concerning. Even the most simplistic form of borg technology in the wrong hands could be disastrous. She must find this girl and do it quickly. “Absolutely. We will do everything we can. Delix, we need to take a look at Ipya’s quarters if you don’t mind.”

“Sure…sure..” he stated and then handed Harper what looked to a small PADD. “This will allow you entry in to any building that you wish here. You have our full cooperation. Let us know if there is anything else that we can do to help,” Delix provided.

“Thank you, we must get to work right away. Sili, let’s head to her home now and start there,” Harper commanded.

“Yes, Captain. Team let’s go. Thank you, Delix,” Sili said before heading out the door with the other three members of the security team.

“Thank you again for your hospitality, Delix. I hate to rush away but this matter is of the utmost priority,” Harper stated.

“Yes, I understand. Thank you for coming! You have no idea what this means to us.” Delix smiled genuinely at Harper. Harper gave him a small smile in return.

Captain Harper left the building and immediately pulled out her communicator. “Ensign Hazel, prepare a message to Starfleet….” She didn’t know what she had just stumbled across, but Starfleet had to be made aware that someone could potentially be targeting liberated borgs.