Redemptions of the Heart

By Oprelia

Rating: PG-13

Code: P, J/P

Category: VOYAGER

Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance

Beta: H. Louise

Spoilers: Scorpion, Part Two

Disclaimer: STAR TREK: VOYAGER and all its characters contained within this story are owned exclusively by Paramount Pictures Corporation. No copyright infringements are intended.

Author's Note: I would like to express my gratitude towards my beta 'H. Louise'. You have helped me a lot with your vast knowledge of the Voyager universe and your continued support.

Chapter Seven

Tom's New Friend

*****

When Tom woke up from his sleep, he realised that he was no longer in sickbay. The utilitarian shades of grey that Starfleet were so fond of had been removed. The walls were now black. Even the light intensity had changed. Gone were the bright white lights of sickbay. In its place was the flickering white light that was actually quite annoying. The white globe did nothing to illuminate the dark room and all it did was aggravate his headache. The actual lighting was the green lamps that cast an eerie glow in the room.

Even through the hazy pain of semi-consciousness, he recognised the lighting that distinctively spelled BORG. He could also hear an ever-present hum of the regeneration alcoves and the whirls and beeps associated with a regenerating drone. The contrast between sickbay and the room that he was in was startling. Even the room smelled different. Gone was the antiseptic smell that was always associated with the doctor's domain. Here the scent could only be described as electrical. It wasn't helped by the humidity. The air was almost at saturation point and the temperature was close to forty degrees.

He turned his head and he realised that he was lying down on a table. He slowly moved his arms and legs, hoping that he wasn't restrained and was relieved to find that he wasn't. He slowly sat up, ignoring the pain and looked around him. Drones were everywhere, moving around and operating newly constructed Borg machinery. He could see that Cargo Bay Two had been fully assimilated. They looked far more sophisticated than the technology that was constructed during the last Borg presence in Cargo Bay Two. During that time when Seven first came aboard, the room was full of technology but not of this type.

First of all the number of regeneration alcoves were far greater than last time. Secondly the Borg had assimilated many other cultures since then and it clearly showed in the sophistication of the modules. Thirdly there was a large central alcove that stood at the rear of the room, just two metres from where he sat. The alcove was in the centre of a blue platform that was raised off the ground. The floor was covered with stars and Borg symbols, clearly imitating a star map.

Standing within the central alcove was a Borg Entity unlike any he had seen before. It looked like the Borg Queen but it was clearly a male, with the muscular physique of a man in his prime designed into the black synthetic body. The Borg entity was distinctly looking at him with a bemused look, as if he knew a joke and was not about to share it.

Tom started to stand up but collapsed back onto the table from the sudden sharp stab of pain that started from his toes and moved all the way up to his head. Gasping in pain, he tried again to stand but was forced to stop because the pain became unbearable.

A drone suddenly walked up to him and grasped his arm. The drone then injected him with a drug while pointedly ignoring his weak cries of protest. It was only after the drone released him and his vision began to clear that he realised that a medical drone had seized him and that he had been injected with a painkiller. It was a very good painkiller because the pain immediately receded to a tolerable level. He was contemplating the strange behaviour of the drone when he jolted in surprise when the Borg began to speak to him.

"Are you feeling any better?" asked the unknown Borg Entity.

"Yes..." Tom replied. Then he remembered who he was with and how the Borg had changed his life.

"You killed my wife and child!" Tom accused the Borg. All his hurt and anger he had felt since their death was now directed at the Borg in front of him.

"No I did not," was the calm reply. It had a strange haunted look at the accusation directed at him.

"YES YOU DID. MY WIFE AND CHILD DIED WHEN YOUR SPHERE ATTACKED OUR SHIP IN THE TRANSWARP CONDUIT!!!" Tom yelled out. He was on a roll now and wanted to direct all his rage towards the race that had changed his life. He was also starting to hyperventilate from his rage.

"Calm down Tom. There is no need to yell. I can hear perfectly without you screaming. Take deep breaths before you hyperventilate," said the Borg calmly as he tried to make Tom breathe slowly and evenly. Tom took many deep breaths until he was able to regain control of his anger.

"Yes you did. I was there," Tom said more calmly. His tone was still scornful and accusatory but he was no longer yelling.

"That was not my ship. The vessel you are referring to was Sphere 634 and the Borg Queen controlled that vessel. I am not she. Had I been able to communicate with the sphere I would have halted its attack but I was unable to gain control over that vessel in time," explained the Borg entity.

"Why should I believe you?" asked Tom, who was now unsure of himself. All his anger suddenly drained away at this unexpected conversation. He had never thought that he would be having a conversation with the Borg, but here he was, listening to a Borg speak to him. Clearly this was no ordinary drone.

"Nothing I say can make you believe the words I have told you. Any evidence I present will be doubted. But let me ask you this. Why would I try to deceive you?"

"I don't know. Why haven't you assimilated me yet?" asked Tom as he started to inch backwards away from the Borg.

"Because I have no desire in the assimilation of people," was the simple answer. This clearly puzzled Tom.

"Who are you? What are you called? What is your designation? Why don't you want to assimilate me?" he demanded

"I am the Borg. I have no designation. As for my name, I have many. I do not like the names that I have been given. Would you like to give me a better one?" asked the Borg entity.

"Give you one... Hey, you are speaking in the first person. Why is that?" Tom questioned.

"That is because I can. I will explain that to you another time. Now, have you thought of a name for me yet?"

Tom was obviously confused as to the direction of this conversation. He said the first name that popped into his head.

"How about Benjamin?" Tom suggested.

"That means 'son of the right hand' in Hebrew does it not? How appropriate," Ben said with a mysterious smile. "You have given me the human name that most accurately describes me. I must give you a gift in return for this name you have given me," Ben said in reply.

"It's only a name Ben. Can I call you Ben? It's the shortened form of Benjamin, kind of like Tom is the shortened version of Thomas," Tom asked the newly named Borg entity. He had always preferred the name Ben to Benjamin.

"That is acceptable. But only you may call me Ben since you are the one to grace me with this name," replies Ben as he walks up to a Borg terminal. He beckons Tom to him and so Tom slowly walks up to the console. Ben then accesses the terminal and brings up some information. However Tom can't read the Borg alphanumeric symbols so he doesn't understand the information that is being presented to him.

"I have fully assimilated the entire database of this vessel while the crew were busy plotting my demise. Since I have full control over the ship's systems I have been monitoring the ship's internal sensors. I could clearly see them before they even reached the doorways. They have since attempted to access Main Engineering and Cargo Bay Two a number of times but I have been able to prevent them from breaching my defences. Your Security Officer should soon realise that 'Resistance Is Futile', but he is Vulcan and I doubt he will accept failure.

"What is most important however is that I have also assimilated the entire medical database, including a scan of your EMH. I am fully aware of your illness Mr Paris. It is because of your condition that I have transported you from sickbay. You are an extreme danger to the rest of your crewmates," Ben stated to a worried Tom.

"I know that I am dangerous. That was why I was kept in quarantine. I had also advised the Captain that they should not transport me onto the ship. Tell me I haven't infected anyone else?" asked the pilot desperately. He could not forgive himself if he placed anyone else in danger.

"No you have not, however I removed you from them to prevent any chances. Now to the whole point of this conversation, I have examined all the data pertaining to your pathogen and I have developed a vaccine that prevents my drones from becoming infected. That is why you are standing here with me now instead of behind a quarantine field," Ben explained to a shocked Tom. He had forgotten that there was no quarantine field separating him from the drones.

"So... will this vaccine also prevent the crew from being infected? That would be the greatest gift I could ever receive," asked a hopeful Tom. All thoughts of animosity towards the Borg were forgotten as he asked Ben for this gift. What he wanted to do more that anything was to love and hold his beautiful Kathryn. He wanted to spend his last few breaths holding her as he slowly passed away.

"The vaccine can be adapted, yes. But why would you want to do that?" asked the perplexed Borg.

"I would give anything to be able to hold on to Kathryn. She is the love of my life and I want to spend my last dying moments with her," said Tom with tears filling his eyes.

"Explain this concept of Love. I do not understand the human version of the word. Why is she so special? Tell me how you acquired her," he asked Tom.

"Well, love is a difficult concept to explain. Love is a state of being. It means to have a great fondness and affection but my love has changed to a very passionate desire for her. She is special to me for a lot of reasons. She makes me happy just by looking at her. She makes my heart ache just thinking about her. I have loved her for a long time now. She lights up my day just by waking up with her beside me, although that desire disappears when she becomes a grouch after she wakes up and demands her morning cup of coffee" explained a laughing Tom. This made Ben even more confused than ever.

"If she is a 'grouch' in the morning, how can you love her? I do not understand," asked Ben with a frown marring his smooth pale brow.

"That was a joke Ben," Tom said. He stopped laughing as his attempt to diffuse the intense conversation with humour failed.

"I see. A joke to diffuse a tense or emotional situation," said Ben.

"Yeah... I don't think that the word you should use is acquired. We both fell in love with each other. We had been spending so much time together after the death of my wife and daughter that I started feeling comfortable with her. As time went by my feelings for her changed in nature... feelings that I had not felt since I lost my late wife. When I realised that I loved her, I had a serious think about it because I have really loved only a few people before. I was afraid to get hurt again but then I realised that I have always had these feelings for her. I realised that I have always loved her but the love I had for her had changed in intensity until I knew that I wanted to be with her for the rest of my life.

"I then asked her on a date and she accepted my invitation. I cooked her some of the best meals that I could make, using all my knowledge of her likes and tastes to create a sumptuous meal. I sang to her some songs that reflected the feelings in my heart and I danced with her all night long on the holodeck. It was magical having her in my arms as we danced along under the moonlit night of Marseilles. We have been together for three years now, three wonderful years that I have spent with her and I have cherished every day that I have spent with her. Every day I wake up wondering if I was dreaming but then I turn sideways and I gaze upon her sleeping face and I realise that this is real. She is my heart and joy, Ben. She completes me and I have never felt this way before. Not even with B'Elanna have I felt so happy," Tom said with a wondrous expression.

"I know of your courtship of your Captain. I have assimilated your personal logs as well as hers. But how is your love for her different from your love of B'Elanna? How can you love two different people?" asked Ben.

"I'm honestly not sure how to answer that. Love is not something that can be fully explained in a database. It is also not something that can be easily explained. It cannot be catalogued and there is no definitive answer. I love B'Elanna. I still do. There is not a day that goes by that I don't miss her. I think about her all the time, about all the things we did, the love and joy we shared, and all the fights we had as well," Tom said with a humorous laugh.

"She will always have a place in my heart. I will always love her until the day I die. But I have also grown to love Kathryn. It is a different kind of love. I love and have loved many things in my life. There is also no one definition of love. Sure my love for B'Elanna is different from my love for Kathryn. That is what makes it so special. I have the capacity in my heart to love both these women. B'Elanna loved me and understood me. We shared a passion for each other that was indescribable. But Kathryn understands me also and we have an entirely different type of passion. She is so special and I love her for so many different reasons. She now has the greater portion of my heart and I in hers. My heart beats with every breath she takes and I can't live without her," Tom tried to explain but the concept was too difficult to clarify.

"That's okay Tom. I understand now. Let me assure you that the feelings you have for your fiancée is fully reciprocated. She loves you just as much as you love her. That is why I would like to give you my gift."

"Really? You will give the crew the vaccine?" Tom was truly happy that he was going to see his beloved fiancée one last time before his death.

"Yes I can give them the vaccine, but that was not the nature of my gift, Tom. With the twenty-ninth century technology I have assimilated from your EMH's autonomous, self contained portable holographic projection unit, I have been able to construct a chamber and a treatment for your illness has been devised from the vast knowledge the Borg possess. I have the means to cure you Tom. This is my gift for you."

Tom could only stare with his mouth open as a result of Ben's announcement.

*****

    Next: Chapter Eight