I'm not really all about fluffy bunnys and such so:
INNOCENCE
“Get in the escape pod!” Mommy was yelling at me.
“ But, Mommy, I want to stay here with you!” I didn't want to sound like I was whining, 'cause Mommy always said, “Don't whine, Daddy's doing important work.” but I was really scared.
“Get in the goddamnescapepodrightnoworI'llbeatyourbutt!” Mommy never talked like that, never threatened me with a spanking- even when I broke her little, glass Buddha- so I scrambled into the little room attached to the Raven. I knew it was a way to get off the ship in an emergency, but I didn't understand why now was so important. Mommy had made dinner ( it was homemade macaroni and cheese and it was one of my favorites) and we were just starting to eat when a little whistle went off in the mess hall. Daddy got all scary mad, he started yelling things at Mommy about “d'tection” and went running for the bridge; and Mommy shoved me into this thing as fast as she could.
“Why you crying, Mommy?” I asked her. She just smiled and said, “I love you, Anna!” Then she slammed the door and she did something and I went flinging out into space. I didn't stay there long, though. The planet we'd been orbiting made sure of that. Whatever it was, the 'scape pod dropped me like a rock. I started screaming as the world rushed at me. Then some kind of thingy started pushing me away from it, but not enough to stop me from landing, kinda soft and gentle, even though it was all rocks. Except, right at the end, the 'scape pod bumped down hard and I got tossed around!”
“And then what happened, Anna?” The elderly gentleman asking her smiled slightly, amused by her childish explanations.
“Well, then I saw the door to the 'scape pod open and I went outside and you were there. And you put band-aids on my ouchies ( she gestured towards the bandage on her left arm) and you brought me to your cave-”Why do you live in a cave?” and gave me dinner-although it's not as good as Mommy's macaroni and cheese. I'm sorry, Mommy always says I should thank people when they are kind to me-your food is good, but it isn't what we ate on the Raven.”
“That's ok, Anna- I know what I have isn't the best. It's just what I have. I've been here a long time. By the way, my name is Turell.” The old man smiled at her.
“Are you a Vulcan?” she asked. “You have pointy ears.”
“No, I'm a Romulan,” Turell answered. “We're sort of...cousins of the Vulcans.”
“Ok,” Anna replied, sipping on the juice bottle Turell had given her. “You seem nice.”
“Well, I'd like to think that I am.” He shook with an inner amusement.
“How did you get here?” Anna asked.
Turell thought for a moment. “I was going to my mother's home and I got swept away by a magical cloud and crashed here.” He didn't think the little girl would know what a cosmic string anomaly was, so he kept his explanation simple. “Tell me something, Anna. What were your parents doing out here?”
She slurped the rest of her juice and replied, “They were studying.”
Turell smiled. “And what were they studying?
“The Borj. Daddy said as long as we stayed in their shadow, we could study them forever. He said they 'never think to look behind'.”
Turell frowned. “The Borj?
Anna smiled at him. “Yup!”
There was a moment of silence in the cave and then Turell jumped to his feet. “The BORG?” he exclaimed.
Anna set her juice container down. “I think that's what Daddy called them.”
Turell began gathering up his possessions in haste. “We have to go, Anna. Get your things and let's get moving!” He grabbed up his bow and arrows, his flashlight, and anything else he could see of value and began stuffing them into his pack. “We have to go now!”
Anna was frightened by his reaction, even more so when he grabbed her arm and began to drag her from the cave. For an old man his strength was immense. “We have to go NOW!” he yelled. “The Borg-curses, they could have tracked your escape pod.” Anna was upset-she thought she'd done something wrong to hurt her new friend and she sat down and began to cry. Turell struggled to pull her up but he was elderly in a way that few humanoids ever achieved. He had, in fact, exceeded the average age for a Romulan many years before and just didn't have the physical strength to pull the little girl along without her cooperation. Their progress was slow, as Anna resisted.
“Why are you being mean?” she demanded.
Turell paused for a moment. “I'm not. But we have to get away from here now. The Borg will have tracked your escape pod-and they are NOT friendly.” He slung his pack over his shoulder and picked up a disruptor from behind the crude bed he'd slept on for so many years.
When Anna saw the weapon she shrank back. “Are you going to hurt me?
Tears filled her eyes.
“No, sweetie, I'm not going to hurt you-but the BORG will. We have to get out of her right now!”
Anna saw the fear in his eyes and finally realized he meant no harm. She grasped his hand and began to walk forward towards the cave mouth. “I'm sorry,” she said, “I thought you were being mean.”
Turell smiled down at her as they strode to the cave mouth. “No, sweetie, I would never hurt you.” Anna hugged his arm. As they stepped out of the cave, they saw nine people assembled in front of them. Their faces and arms bore mechanical devices, their skin was pale and they all held position in a way tat Anna, if she'd had a chance to learn about it, would have resembled bowling pins from a sport on her home planet.
Turell said something in his own language, pulled his disruptor and fired, immediately disintegrating one of the intruders.
“Run, Anna!” he cried, firing upon a second. This one, however, emitted a shield that blocked his shot. “Run, girl!” he screamed. And then their weapons' fire burned him out of existence. Anna ran. The Borg walked. Long after she ran out of energy, they walked. Eventually they found her, in a sun-soaked meadow of grass, a little oasis in an otherwise rocky terrain.
“Why won't you leave me alone?!?” Anna cried.
The lead Borg replied, “We will make your uniqueness our own. We have lost the seventh of our nine-you will replace him.”
Sobbing, Anna replied, “I don't want to!”
The Borg leaned towards the cowering little girl. As the tubules ran into her neck, she heard, “You will become our Seven of Nine.”
INNOCENCE
“Get in the escape pod!” Mommy was yelling at me.
“ But, Mommy, I want to stay here with you!” I didn't want to sound like I was whining, 'cause Mommy always said, “Don't whine, Daddy's doing important work.” but I was really scared.
“Get in the goddamnescapepodrightnoworI'llbeatyourbutt!” Mommy never talked like that, never threatened me with a spanking- even when I broke her little, glass Buddha- so I scrambled into the little room attached to the Raven. I knew it was a way to get off the ship in an emergency, but I didn't understand why now was so important. Mommy had made dinner ( it was homemade macaroni and cheese and it was one of my favorites) and we were just starting to eat when a little whistle went off in the mess hall. Daddy got all scary mad, he started yelling things at Mommy about “d'tection” and went running for the bridge; and Mommy shoved me into this thing as fast as she could.
“Why you crying, Mommy?” I asked her. She just smiled and said, “I love you, Anna!” Then she slammed the door and she did something and I went flinging out into space. I didn't stay there long, though. The planet we'd been orbiting made sure of that. Whatever it was, the 'scape pod dropped me like a rock. I started screaming as the world rushed at me. Then some kind of thingy started pushing me away from it, but not enough to stop me from landing, kinda soft and gentle, even though it was all rocks. Except, right at the end, the 'scape pod bumped down hard and I got tossed around!”
“And then what happened, Anna?” The elderly gentleman asking her smiled slightly, amused by her childish explanations.
“Well, then I saw the door to the 'scape pod open and I went outside and you were there. And you put band-aids on my ouchies ( she gestured towards the bandage on her left arm) and you brought me to your cave-”Why do you live in a cave?” and gave me dinner-although it's not as good as Mommy's macaroni and cheese. I'm sorry, Mommy always says I should thank people when they are kind to me-your food is good, but it isn't what we ate on the Raven.”
“That's ok, Anna- I know what I have isn't the best. It's just what I have. I've been here a long time. By the way, my name is Turell.” The old man smiled at her.
“Are you a Vulcan?” she asked. “You have pointy ears.”
“No, I'm a Romulan,” Turell answered. “We're sort of...cousins of the Vulcans.”
“Ok,” Anna replied, sipping on the juice bottle Turell had given her. “You seem nice.”
“Well, I'd like to think that I am.” He shook with an inner amusement.
“How did you get here?” Anna asked.
Turell thought for a moment. “I was going to my mother's home and I got swept away by a magical cloud and crashed here.” He didn't think the little girl would know what a cosmic string anomaly was, so he kept his explanation simple. “Tell me something, Anna. What were your parents doing out here?”
She slurped the rest of her juice and replied, “They were studying.”
Turell smiled. “And what were they studying?
“The Borj. Daddy said as long as we stayed in their shadow, we could study them forever. He said they 'never think to look behind'.”
Turell frowned. “The Borj?
Anna smiled at him. “Yup!”
There was a moment of silence in the cave and then Turell jumped to his feet. “The BORG?” he exclaimed.
Anna set her juice container down. “I think that's what Daddy called them.”
Turell began gathering up his possessions in haste. “We have to go, Anna. Get your things and let's get moving!” He grabbed up his bow and arrows, his flashlight, and anything else he could see of value and began stuffing them into his pack. “We have to go now!”
Anna was frightened by his reaction, even more so when he grabbed her arm and began to drag her from the cave. For an old man his strength was immense. “We have to go NOW!” he yelled. “The Borg-curses, they could have tracked your escape pod.” Anna was upset-she thought she'd done something wrong to hurt her new friend and she sat down and began to cry. Turell struggled to pull her up but he was elderly in a way that few humanoids ever achieved. He had, in fact, exceeded the average age for a Romulan many years before and just didn't have the physical strength to pull the little girl along without her cooperation. Their progress was slow, as Anna resisted.
“Why are you being mean?” she demanded.
Turell paused for a moment. “I'm not. But we have to get away from here now. The Borg will have tracked your escape pod-and they are NOT friendly.” He slung his pack over his shoulder and picked up a disruptor from behind the crude bed he'd slept on for so many years.
When Anna saw the weapon she shrank back. “Are you going to hurt me?
Tears filled her eyes.
“No, sweetie, I'm not going to hurt you-but the BORG will. We have to get out of her right now!”
Anna saw the fear in his eyes and finally realized he meant no harm. She grasped his hand and began to walk forward towards the cave mouth. “I'm sorry,” she said, “I thought you were being mean.”
Turell smiled down at her as they strode to the cave mouth. “No, sweetie, I would never hurt you.” Anna hugged his arm. As they stepped out of the cave, they saw nine people assembled in front of them. Their faces and arms bore mechanical devices, their skin was pale and they all held position in a way tat Anna, if she'd had a chance to learn about it, would have resembled bowling pins from a sport on her home planet.
Turell said something in his own language, pulled his disruptor and fired, immediately disintegrating one of the intruders.
“Run, Anna!” he cried, firing upon a second. This one, however, emitted a shield that blocked his shot. “Run, girl!” he screamed. And then their weapons' fire burned him out of existence. Anna ran. The Borg walked. Long after she ran out of energy, they walked. Eventually they found her, in a sun-soaked meadow of grass, a little oasis in an otherwise rocky terrain.
“Why won't you leave me alone?!?” Anna cried.
The lead Borg replied, “We will make your uniqueness our own. We have lost the seventh of our nine-you will replace him.”
Sobbing, Anna replied, “I don't want to!”
The Borg leaned towards the cowering little girl. As the tubules ran into her neck, she heard, “You will become our Seven of Nine.”
)
