//We are Borg. We have been assimilated. The new unit is Fourteenth of Fourteen. We will repair the isotron conduits on level B-61.//

As her mind began to function properly 14/14 absorbed this, distractedly classifying the voice as 1/14, and followed the rest of her group to the designated area, listening carefully to the babble in her head. She was aware of everything - she wielded a laser torch in A-52, and at the same time received instructions from the Queen in the Central Complex. She remembered...

...organics in coloured uniforms arguing over a viewscreen. "We are Locutus of Borg," she told them...

...waking up to the face of the Queen, the first of the new Collective...

...descending from a domed ceiling into a slim bodysuit, taunting a gold-skinned android...

...working on the isotron conduits in B-61, repairing, shifting, connecting and above all, learning as the days turned into weeks and months.

//We are Borg,// she said. //We were once inferior, but now we are Borg. We are better. More efficient. We are glad to be Borg. We will assimilate others. Resistance is futile!//

//We are also glad to be Borg,// 9/14 agreed, but not quite comprehending her viewpoint. //Of course we will assimilate others. What of it?//

//All will be Borg. All will be better,// 14/14 said.

5/14 joined the discussion, as puzzled as 9/14. //And?//

//And what?// 14/14 asked. //We are Borg. We will assimilate. Is that not glorious?//

//Glorious?// 5/14 and 9/14 echoed. //We do not understand.//

If 14/14 had been her old self, if she'd even remembered what it was like to be her old self, she might have sighed. Instead she changed the subject. She'd been having many conversations like that recently. She seemed to see things differently than the other Borg. They accepted what they were, accepted their orders, did what they were told. 14/14 took pride in her work. She enjoyed being Borg - she enjoyed just *being*.

//Eleventh of Fourteen,// she began. //Where do we go?//

//To Central Complex,// 11/14 told her. //The queens meet to discuss the situation.//

//What situation?//

//We do not know.//

//It is not relevant,// 6/14 added pointedly. If it was relevant their queen would have told them.

14/14 was silent, just listening, as she finished her job and moved down the corridor, not wasting a moment of time. She was, of course, more efficient now she was a Borg. Once she had been al-Tzior, she knew. The al-Tzior were assimilated. She knew everything there was to know about their cultures and customs - indeed, about the customs of many species that had been assimilated - but she didn't know what it was to be al-Tzior.

//Thirteenth of Fourteen,// she said quietly, her voice almost lost in the thousands of others beating down on them. //We believe there is something wrong with this unit.//

//Wrong?// 13/14 echoed, almost concerned. //The unit is not damaged?//

//Not damaged,// 14/14 agreed. //We have strange thoughts. We wonder... what it's like to be alone.//

13/14's thoughts were incredulous, and he visibly recoiled. //?!//

//We wonder what it's like to not always be surrounded by others,// 14/14 continued, before she lost the courage. //We wonder what it's like to- to not be Borg.//

//We are correct,// 13/14 said. //There *is* something wrong with the unit. It will be reabsorbed.//

//We do not wish to be reabsorbed,// 14/14 said. //We wish to... we wish to survive.//

8/14 noticed what was being said. //What is wrong with the unit?// he asked 13/14.

//Its thought processes are corrupted,// 13/14 said. //We do not understand it.//

//If we are corrupted we will be reabsorbed,// 8/14 said simply. //We have work to do.// And he turned away.

//We do not wish to be reabsorbed!// 14/14 wailed.

//Our wishes are irrelevant,// 13/14 told her coldly.

//But we loved you!// 14/14 cried, then stopped, confused.

//The unit is damaged,// 13/14 said. //The unit must be reabsorbed.// But he looked uncertain. As he stood there, hesitating, the queen rounded the corner purposefully. All fourteen immediately turned to face her. She didn't hesitate to speak.

-?-

//Its thought processes are corrupted,// 2/14 said.

-.-

14/14 trembled a moment, then worked up the courage to speak. //We do not wish to be reabsorbed.//

-?-

//We wish to survive.// It was easier to speak in response to a question, 14/14 found. //We wish to- to remember.//

-?-

//Everything.//

The queen considered for a moment, silent in the myriad of voices that was the Collective. Finally she addressed the group.

-?-

//We do,// 13/14 said. //We want the unit to survive. It is important.//

-?-

//We do not know why.//

-?-

Another Borg - 5/7 - appeared by the queen's side. //The unit was not assimilated properly. It is being rejected by the Collective.//

//And this unit?// 13/14 asked.

//That unit also was not assimilated correctly,// 5/7 said. //The al-Tzior units do not assimilate well. They have all been rejected so far.//

//We do not wish to be rejected,// 14/14 said stoutly. //We enjoy being Borg. We are more efficient.//

The other twelve shifted uneasily as 13/14 moved closer to 14/14. Enjoyment of being Borg was not a concept that would normally occur to them; they were Borg and that was it.

//The al-Tzior units are contaminating the Collective,// 5/7 said. //We have their knowledge; that is all we need. The infected units can be released.//

-.-

//De-assimilated?// 13/14 asked. //Or destroyed?//

-?-

//No,// he sighed. //No, it is not relevant.//