By the ship entryway an eerie quiet had replaced the sound of battle. The clicking and foreign sounds of mechanical joints and devices working punctuated the air. Drones systematically searched the vessel to seize it last survivors. Welded doors and barricades would prove ineffective. With every injection the Romulans were being irrevocably transformed. The various sections of the crew would be assigned new functions within the Hive.
Small impulses of light from implants cast shadows on their armor. The cybernetic beings grabbed terminals and crewmembers with equal force. Forearms and manipulators raised and bent at perfect ninety-degree angles towards their targets. Piercing claws delivered corruption to the once vibrant Romulan vessel. The display interfaces in the hallway were undergoing assimilation; Borg font overwriting their native language. A green glimmer spread through the ship, replacing the emergency lighting. Even the walls started to match their armor as tubing grew like vegetation.
The partially assimilated engineer was erect and awaiting instruction. He was flanked by two drones restraining him. Both were clasped around his shoulders, waiting. His neck had hardened by the two puncture wounds. Veins rippled from tendrils digging deep within. Over his pectoral muscle an intense pressure expanded. He moaned as an implant burst from his skin, providing immense release.
Underneath his uniform he could feel it unfold around his left nipple. Similar processes occurred down his body, internal reconfigurations paving the way for his metamorphosis. The sensations were overpowering. He felt nauseous and lightheaded. Vision going black, he collapsed forward. The Drone behind him caught him. Its manipulator gauntlet landing flush with his chest. He was propped up by the embrace of them.
The wave passed, returning his vision and awareness. His hand had remained on the chest of the drone facing him. He explored the coal-colored shell. Woven within wires and protection he identified a personal shield emitter. It was nestled in her sternum or perhaps had replaced it. The size was impressively small but mirrored the one on the ship he serviced. He pressed as the armor moved subtly.
His clothing itched, rejecting his evolving skin. Her suit on the other hand was taut. It complemented her implants. His grip over the drone's breast tightened. The warm rubbery armor was erogenous and complex with the rigid technology.
His hand released from the drone's chest, commanded by an invisible force. The arm twitched as a wave of nanoprobes and wires established control. Cracks in the skin formed as a Y shaped implant erupted from the back of his wrist. From the numb puncture five appendages sprouted and snaked out to his fingertips. The scene horrified him as they stuck onto his digits, covering his nails. A prickling sensation melded with his sensory nerves. Suddenly he could feel through the Borg surface.
The cybernetic tendons contracted, fingers tapping and compressing to calibrate. He felt their power augment his own, intoxicating and confident. The only drawback was that he couldn't control his arm. The structure was taking over what he used to interact with the world. He had been proud of his dexterity. It served him well in fixing and maintaining the ship.
He cherished his hands as a surgeon would. This limb was alien to him now. It was undeniably Borg. It looked the same as those that had seized the crew. Deep beneath his fascination he tried to remember himself. He was Romulan. He searched for a memory to anchor him.
He focused on the scar from when he had fallen off a cliff. The fall had fractured the bone and needed casting. He watched as the metal structure coalesced over his knuckles and covered it. It was now indistinguishable from that of the drones.
He was in awe of the speed of his conversion. He could feel the Borg moving inside him, altering him. They would fill him with new purpose and sensation. Patches bulged as the infection accelerated. Implants and currents flowed from the puncture wounds on his neck. The first implant had formed there, commanding the formation of others as nanoprobes subjugated his cells.
His scalp had hardened, hair matted against it. He could feel something deep within his left ear buzz. By his spine jolts of static rang as connections formed his cerebellum. Soon the Borg would have full control of his motor cortex. He tried to look at his fellow crew to gain a memory, something to remind him of himself. He never thought he would give in this easily. All he saw were crew being restrained by drones.
Some were made to wait, others marching off the ship in tandem with their new master. Their familiar faces were fading into the Collective. He didn't have many friends. He had mostly buried himself in his work. It was easier and more rewarding. Only his security colleague had sat with him in the mess hall and gotten to know him. She was kind and didn't judge his obsession with his work. Memories of social rejection flooded back to him.
He repelled the negative emotions and returned to analyzing the creatures. It was endlessly fascinating how the Borg muted the characteristics of the original lifeform. That marching gray sapping them of any defining pigmentation. Faces were partially obscured by bulky devices and tubing that plunged into dermis. What little remained only showed the Hive mind's programming.
Each drone presented a resolute sameness. Their flesh matched. Their hardware matched. Their purpose matched. Soon he would match. He could see their unity in their synchronous behavior. Each drone cooperating as they conquered the ship.
Their linked minds shared sensations and strategy. Every drone was assimilating him. Each one filling him with the same technology. He imagined how drones may move between levels of consciousness. The singular mind moving to that of the group.
His head turned to his friend the security guard. She was now awake and staring ahead. He watched her breathe deep and slowly release. Her contaminated front now matched that of the drones surrounding them. Her assimilator approved as her head slowly turned to gaze back. Its cybernetic claw maintaining its grip while she oriented to her new life.