For as long as the Federation has existed, and even longer, there has been a rogue organization known only as Section 31. 31's goal is simple, protect the Federation and its interests, at any cost, working above the law, doing unspeakable things in the name of the Federation. They have operatives at all levels of Starfleet and the Federation government.
At one point it was decided that 31 should get command of their own starship. A Section 31 operative in the Admiralty of Starfleet made the arrangement for a single escort to be assigned to an officer the 31s choosing, and that captain would then pick the crew members that 31 told him to pick.
This captain was a human named Joshua Yoel Eudy. In an interesting sidenote, this human was actually from the early 21st century, and came to be in our time as a result of a botched time travel experiment conducted in 2404, five years ago.
Eudy was a bit of an eccentric, though seeing as he was from a time nearly four hundred years past, this was to be expected. After his arrival from his own time, he went through a program designed for temporally displaced individuals. He learned all about the history that he missed, and the modern galactic community. After this he was eager to see the galaxy, and so joined Starfleet.
It was during his sophomore year at the academy that he was chosen (through no desire of his own) to become the newest agent for Section 31. After a few years, he had become not only an Academy graduate, but an reluctant but willing operative for 31.
Now 31 has arranged him his own command, an entire ship filled with their operatives, to do 31st bidding. Drake, his contact at 31 explained a rather extreme part of this plan. It seems that 31 was worried that with so many agents openly working together, that there was too much potential for an operative to learn more than they were meant to. A way had to be devised to prevent the operatives from sharing stories and gossiping, because the risk was just too high.
As it turned out, Joshua did not like the idea at all. He was going to be injected with modified Borg nanoprobes. He would be assimilated, but not into The Collective. Instead, he would be reborn as a Borg king, and able to assimilate others into his own personal collective. He was horrified at this idea, and outright refused this plan. He promised Drake that he would ensure that the operatives would not divulge any secrets to each other. When they accepted this, he should have known it was too good to be true.
His third morning aboard the ship as its new captain, Eudy did not wake up in his bed like he had been expecting. He felt different, and he could not feel his body. As he opened his eyes and took an assesment of himself, he was furious. He was no longer human. he had been assimilated into a Borg King, his head and shoulders attached by animate tubes to a regeneration alcove attached to the ceiling. His metallic spin hung below him, undulating like a confused worm. he realized that he could control the tubes holding him, and he brought his head and neck down into the bio mechanical body that he knew was for him.
As he stretched him arms and legs, getting a feel for his new body, a voice spoke from a chair in the corner of the room. It was Drake, no doubt here to explain what would happen next. While he had been in the mechanical cocoon that had transformed him, Drake had extracted more nanoprobes from his bloodstream, and modified them for airborne transmission. As Captain Eudy watched in horror, Drake ordered the computer to release the nanoprobe virus into the ships air. He of course had programmed the nanoprobes to avoid the EM field that a device he carried put out. This would prevent his assimilation.
Suddenly, Josh began to hear voices in his mind. They were crying out, in pain, fear and confusion. He felt as if the voices were a part of him, and he wanted to calm them, sooth them, and protect them. "It is alright my Children" he said, his voice being transmitted into the minds of the crew of his ship. "I am your King, and I will order your confusion, and protect you. Suddenly he felt a tie to his new drones that he has never expected. He loved each and every one of them, cherished them all.
At his telepathic reassurances, the drones voices started to calm down. Suddenly many of them were saying the same things. The voices become fewer, more rich and faceted, and more harmonious. After several seconds all the voices has merged into one. That voice felt like a welcome companion to himself. It relied on him to exist, and brought such a strong sense of completion and purpose to Eudy.
The 31 Collective had been formed, and now he was their King. Many of the drones were allowed to keep their natural skin tone, and have minimal mechanical implants, to aid in keeping them inconspicuous. They even were able to act as if they were individuals, but the voice of their King was always there to guide their thoughts and actions. A new, different collective had been born, with different motivations than the main collective. This small collective would work to protect Starfleet and the Federation. They would only assimilate to replace fallen crew men, or under orders from 31. There are our protectors.
