Hugh is a recurring character in the Star Trek franchise. First appearing in Star Trek: The Next Generation, he was originally a Borg drone that had become severed from the Borg Collective after his scout ship had crash-landed on a moon in the Argolis Cluster. After being rescued by the USS Enterprise-D, whose crew gave him the name Hugh, he developed a new sense of individuality, becoming a person as opposed to a mindless automaton.
In Star Trek: Picard, Hugh has since had most of his Borg implants removed and lives as a Federation citizen. He also spearheaded the Borg Reclamation Project in conjunction with the Romulan Free State, studying the systems of the derelict Borg cube referred to as The Artifact.
History[]
Hugh's early history remains a complete mystery; it is unknown what species he originally hailed from or when he was originally assimilated, though he was still in an adolescent state of maturity by the time he encountered the Enterprise-D. This would imply that Hugh was most likely assimilated as a young child and underwent accelerated growth in a Borg maturation chamber. Likewise, it is unclear how long Hugh had been a part of the Collective before his disconnection.
Star Trek: The Next Generation[]
I, Borg[]
Hugh's Borg designation prior to his recovery by the Enterprise-D was Third of Five (there were only five drones on his ship). He was critically injured following the crash of his ship that killed the rest of his crew, but his life was spared when the Enterprise-D discovered the crash site on a moon in the Argolis Cluster. Captain jean-Luc Picard initially wanted to leave the drone for dead as the Borg would eventually come to salvage the wreckage of the scout ship and the dead drones. However, Dr. Beverly Crusher had already started treating it, thus creating evidence of Starfleet interference that the Borg would discover. The unconscious drone was beamed into the Enterprise's brig where it could be cared for, but Captain Picard saw an opportunity to use the drone as a weapon against its own kind, which had already proven to be a threat to the Federation and most other life in the galaxy. Picard surmised that if an invasive program could be implanted into the drone's cortical array, it could be returned to the Borg Collective who would then be infected by the program, which would spread across the entire Collective and wipe them out. Most of the Enterprise senior crew were in favour of this plan, all except Dr. Crusher.
When the drone regained consciousness in the Enterprise brig, it was disoriented and did not understand why it could not hear the countless voices of the Borg Collective in its mind. When Geordi La Forge entered the detention cell to install a power conduit for the drone to regenerate from, it announced the typical Borg greeting by threatening Geordi with assimilation. It also stated that it required returning to the collective, referring to itself as "we", though there was only one of him. When asked for his name, the drone responded with its designation "Third of Five". It also asked why Geordi was feeding it energy, recognizing him as non-Borg and disregarding his wish to remain so by threatening him with assimilation again.
Third of Five would later meet Dr. Crusher in the Enterprise's science lab, asking questions such as "What is a doctor" and "What is your designation". Geordi and Beverly gave the drone their names. In response, Third of Five asked if he had a name. Geordi decided to call the Borg "Hugh" after hearing Beverly mispronounce the word "you" while contemplating what to call the drone. Hugh accepted his new name and allowed Geordi and Beverly to continue their tests on his cybernetics. As they conversed, Hugh became genuinely puzzled as to why these humans did not want to become Borg, and Geordi began to question whether or not it was right to use Hugh as a weapon to commit genocide against the Borg.
As Hugh spent more time aboard the Enterprise, he came to learn of the human concepts of friendship and individuality. He also met Guinan, the ship's El-Aurian bartender who's people had been conquered by the Borg a century ago. At first, Hugh did not tell Guinan that she was to be assimilated, but when she mentioned it, he asked if she actually wanted assimilation. Guinan told Hugh that resistance was not as futile as the Borg claimed, that her people resisted when the Collective invaded her world and scattered throughout the galaxy, ensuring their survival. Hugh realised that Guinan was lonely, and he sympathized with her since he had also lost his home, his kin and everything he knew.
Hugh would later be brought face-to-face with Captain Picard, who seemed determined to continue the plan to use Hugh to destroy the Borg despite the pleas of his crew and friends. When the captain and Hugh met in the ready room, Hugh referred to Picard as "Locutus", the name Picard had gone by during his time with the Borg two years previously. Assuming the role, Picard demanded that Hugh identify himself by his Borg designation and to assist Locutus in assimilating the Enterprise and its crew. Hugh refused, referring to himself as "I" and denouncing his Borg identity.
With Picard ultimately swayed by Hugh's newfound individuality, it was decided that Hugh should be allowed to choose whether or not he wanted to stay on the Enterprise or go back to the Borg. Hugh wished to stay, but he knew that the Borg would not stop searching until they found him, and so decided to return to the wreckage of his ship so as not to endanger the Enterprise. The Borg arrived shortly after, collecting Hugh and salvaging the components of their fallen drones before departing.
Descent[]
After being reassimilated into the Borg hive-mind, Hugh's sense of individuality spread through the Collective like a virus, releasing his entire ship from it. Unsure of how to function, the liberated drones fell into chaos and began fighting amongst themselves. Many died in the fighting and others simply deactivated themselves.
Hugh and the other drones would eventually be discovered by the android Lore, who helped the discordant Borg find a new sense of purpose by proposing to remake them as fully artificial beings. The Borg found the prospect appealing, but Lore began experimenting on them and inflicted severe neurological damage, rendering several of them vegetative. Many of the Borg, including Hugh, did not agree with Lore's vision. When Lore established his base on an alien planet and slaughtered the inhabitants, Hugh and a small number of Borg went into hiding in the catacombs beneath Lore's temple.
Hugh's sympathizers would remain in hiding until the activities of Lore's group attracted the attention of Starfleet. The Enterprise-D had arrived and several of the crew - including Hugh's friend Geordi La Forge - had been captured. Commander William Riker and Lt. Worf were investigating Lore's temple when Hugh's allies found them. Hugh blamed the Enterprise crew for what had happened to the Borg and for setting them up for Lore's domination. He refused to help them rescue their missing people, fearing that Lore would discover him and his separatist group. When Riker and Worf proceeded with their rescue plan, Hugh had a change of heart and he and his fellows infiltrated Lore's compound, just as Lore was prepared to kill his own android brother Data and the Enterprise prisoners. Hugh rushed in to stop Lore, and in so doing allowed Riker and Worf to initiate their plan to rescue Captain Picard and the others. The fighting was brought to an end after Data shut down Lore, and the android's surviving followers were taken in by Hugh's group. Hugh seemed to have established himself as a capable leader and decided to try and help the Borg separatists establish a stable community. He then bid farewell to the Enterprise crew.
Star Trek: Picard[]
By 2399, Hugh had had most of the Borg technology stripped from his body and had become recognized as a citizen of the Federation. It was also around this time that he found employment as the executive director of the Borg Reclamation Project, an organization that was dedicated to the study of Borg technology as well as the rehabilitation of former Borg drones. He would work closely with Soji Asha aboard the Artifact, a derelict Borg cube that had been discovered in Romulan space and thus fell under Romulan Free State jurisdiction.
In mid-2399, Hugh would meet Jean-Luc Picard once again for the first time in almost 30 years. Hugh showed Picard the facilities in which he helped the xBs attempt to reclaim their lives after the removal of their implants, believing that as an xB himself, Picard would be an advocate for better treatment for former Borg.
Hugh knew that a Romulan spy, Narek, had arrived at the Artifact two weeks before Picard, trying to find out about Soji, and offered Picard his help without hesitation. When Soji's android abilities were activated and she fled from Narek and the Zhat Vash, Hugh took Picard and Soji into the old cube's queencell and used its spatial trajector to teleport them to Nepenthe, while Picard's sworn protector, a young Romulan named Elnor, remained behind with Hugh to cover their escape.
Hugh was interrogated by Narek's sister, Narissa, who coldly had the xBs executed when he refused to give up Picard's location; she only refrained from killing Hugh herself because of the treaty with the Federation. Hugh felt that he had failed the xBs, and ultimately decided to deny the Romulans the cube by activating the queencell. However, as this was a treaty violation as well as an act of insurrection, Narissa now felt justified in killing him, and mortally wounded him with a knife thrown into his neck.
Before he died, Hugh told Elnor that he needed an xB to activate the queencell, and thanked him for letting him briefly be a "hopeful fool" again.