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I am Borg – Part 1 - Chapter 2
By Kudara
Disclaimer:
Star Trek Star Trek Voyager and all who sail in her belong to
Paramount/Viacom and no infringement of copyright/trade marks is
intended.
Stardate: 52672
Rating: PG-13
Revision Date: 7/3/04; 3/23/07; 6/5/07
Summary: Huiah Mlaer must break the news of Seven’s fate to
Voyager’s crew. B’Elanna Torres must brave the wrath of Captain
Janeway for her part in Seven’s death.
Klingon words used: Meanings taken from Voragh’s notes on
Klingon Cursing
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/8853/curse.html
Ghuy’cha’ – strong swearword.
Ha’DIbaH – abusive insulting word meaning Animal.
Peta’Q – abusive insulting word, implies that the thing or
person spoken of is useless, garbage, non-functional.
*******************************************************************
Several hours later, Huiah Mlaer found himself staring at a very
angry Captain Janeway. He had agreed to come aboard Voyager to
meet her personally, stating that he had a duty that he must
discharge to her and her crew.
He was met in the transporter room by the ship’s First Officer,
and a stiff and formal Captain Janeway who immediately said, “I
demand to know what has happened to Seven of Nine.”
Huiah Mlaer sighed unhappily, “I do not think this is the place
for me to discuss this matter Captain Janeway.”
The tone of his voice must have made it apparent that the news
he had was dire, for the Captain paled and swayed slightly, her
First Officer immediately supported her with a firm hand under
her elbow. Chakotay nodded to Mlaer, “Follow us to the
Captain’s Ready Room.”
Mlaer wracked his brain for the man’s name, “Certainly Commander
Chakotay…” he paused to see if he had pronounced the human’s
name correctly, and was rewarded with a nod and a small smile as
the First Officer lead the way out of the transporter room. The
Mularan stared as they passed through the ship, wishing that he
could ask for a tour, but the nature of his news made it
unlikely that it would ever occur. Too soon for his taste they
had passed through the ship and into the Captain’s Ready room.
Captain Janeway seemed to have regained her composure and she
asked firmly, “What news do you have of Seven of Nine.”
The Mularan waited until both of the humans were seated before
beginning formally, “Two days ago Seven of Nine was illegally
kidnapped from this space station and taken to the Intelligence
Base on Mularan. There she was…” Huiah Mlaer paused
uncertainly, trying to think of the kindest way to tell what had
been done, and trying to block out of his mind the vision of the
interrogation room. He continued in a shaking voice, “There she
was...” Huiah Mlaer could not continue looking at the woman he
was speaking to and instead he dropped his eyes to the carpet in
shame and continued, “…brutally beaten by the head of the
Intelligence Department, Ahaoe Muahe. I was informed of his
intent but arrived too late to prevent the death of your
crewmember.” A stifled gasp drew his attention back to Captain
Janeway.
The woman looked pale and shocked, he hurriedly continued,
“Ahaoe Muahe claimed the right to use the Arch of Judgment. As
required by tradition and law, we took the body of Seven of Nine
and Ahaoe Muahe to the temple, where judgment was rendered in
favor of your crewmember. Muahe is due to be beheaded within
the hour; all of his lands and titles are forfeit to the
government. The guard who initially attacked her, and the
Commander of the guards of this station, have also been
sentenced to beheading. Any guard determined to have been
involved in the transportation of Seven of Nine will be confined
and sentenced to no less than 10 years.” He finished the last
in a rush, earnestly holding the Captain’s gaze, determined to
demonstrate to Captain Janeway that the Mularans took the crime
seriously.
Captain Janeway focused on the litany of beheadings, trying to
remember the law code that had been transmitted to them before
their arrival at the space station and said, “Beheading is not
the usual punishment for murder, is it?”
Huiah Mlaer shook his head and said, “Not usually, but in this
case the judgment was rendered by Mulara herself. Ahaoe Muahe
claimed that Seven of Nine was guilty for all the Borg
assimilations and murders that occurred nine years ago on
Mularan. She was found innocent of all accusations, Mulara said
that since she had no individual will she could not be found
guilty of any of her actions while she was part of the
Collective. Since Mulara rendered the judgment the sentences
are more severe. Mulara found Ahaoe Muahe guilty of misuse of
his powers, kidnapping, torture of a minor and murder of a
minor. Beheading is the traditional punishment when Mulara’s
judgment is invoked and the resulting charge is murder.
Forfeiture of all lands and money is an additional punishment
since the person involved was a minor. The 10 year sentence for
anyone involved in the kidnapping is, of course, the standard
punishment for kidnapping a minor.”
Captain Janeway looked at Huiah Mlaer and said, “Minor? Seven of
Nine is… was twenty-seven years old. At what age are Mularan’s
considered to be adults?”
Huiah Mlaer said, “Mulara said that her emotional and social
growth was not that of an adult and that she was to be
considered a minor. The age of adulthood varies in Mularan law;
one must prove that they have the emotional and social maturity
to be considered an adult. The average age varies between
eighteen and twenty one years of age.”
Janeway nodded then asked, “When can we have the body of Seven
of Nine for burial?”
Huiah Mlaer looked uncomfortable, hesitantly he admitted, “I’m
not sure, as we do not have access to Seven of Nine. One of the
guardians at the Arch of Judgment took her body into the inner
temple. Force fields have been erected around the lower parts
of the temple and the inner temple gardens. We cannot enter the
area where the guardian took her body to find out what has
happened to her.”
Captain Janeway stared at Huiah Mlaer, “Where exactly is this
temple located, have you scanned for any signs of Seven of
Nine?” she finally asked.
“Our equipment cannot penetrate the force field that surrounds
the temple, but I will give you the coordinates. Perhaps your
scans will be allowed to penetrate the shield,” Mlaer replied
helpfully.
Captain Janeway gave Mlaer an odd look at his phrasing, but
merely nodded. She knew the Mularans devoutly believed that
their goddess was real. During Seven’s briefing the former Borg
had informed them that the Collective believed Mulara was a
highly advanced non-corporal energy being. Suddenly hopeful
despite the odds of any reason to be so, Janeway requested the
coordinates from Huiah Mlaer and relayed them to the bridge,
instructing them to specifically scan those coordinates for any
sign of Seven of Nine.
It was not long before Kim reported, “Captain, there is a human
life form at the indicated coordinates, but I am unable to
detect any signs of Borg implants. I am still trying to get a
more detailed scan through the force field that surrounds the
entire area.”
Rising quickly, Captain Janeway stepped from behind her desk,
“If you will accompany me to the bridge Mr. Mlaer?”
Mlaer, suddenly hopeful that events might not be as dire as he
thought, rose and readily followed the Captain from her Ready
Room onto the Bridge. The large central view screen showed a
close up of the Mularan Temple, the force field a golden dome
covering part of the temple grounds.
Ensign Kim nodded to the Captain, “I have confirmed that the
human life form DNA matches that of Seven of Nine. She’s there
Captain, but there are a lot of differences in the data I’m
seeing compared to the medical information we have for her.
With your permission I would like to forward it to Sickbay for
the Doctor to analyze.”
Janeway nodded thoughtfully then said, “Let the Doctor know I
would like that analysis to be completed as soon as possible,
what have you determined about the force field Ensign?”
Kim grimaced, “I have not been able to determine the energy
source powering it, but whatever it is, it’s putting out a lot
of energy to generate a force field of that area and strength.
I can’t get a transport lock on Seven of Nine through it.” He
shook his dark head confused, “Given its strength I’m not sure
why our scans are penetrating it at all, we shouldn’t be able
to.”
Janeway replied thoughtfully, “Remember what Seven said during
the briefing about Mulara, the power source of that force field
might not be what you would normally expect. Look for any
spatial anomalities or singularities that might be feeding it
power.”
********************************************************************
Janeway made an effort to persuade Huiah Mlaer that those
condemned to death should be spared since Seven was alive, but
he was quite adamant that Mulara had stated that she had been
murdered. Nothing could change that pronouncement, not even the
fact that Mulara had decided to restore her. The Captain then
sent an official protest of the sentences to the Mularan
government, which was taken as a noble gesture, and promptly
ignored. In their viewpoint, Mulara had been very clear about
the nature of the crimes committed. The only thing the Mularan
government did agree with her about was that Voyager should be
sent copies of everything they had on Seven’s abduction,
torture, death and the events at the Arch of Judgment.
Commander Chakotay escorted a grateful Huiah Mlaer around the
ship while the information was gathered. Upon being informed
that the data requested had been sent to Voyager, Mlaer asked to
be transported back to the planet, candidly admitting that he
had no desire to view Seven’s death, the memory of the
interrogation room was enough to give him nightmares as it was.
With his parting words as a warning, Janeway and Chakotay began
with the reports of the events leading up to Seven’s
disappearance. They were extremely disappointed to learn that
the engineering crew had been the primary source of the negative
information Ahaoe Muahe had obtained about Seven of Nine.
The reports from the Mularan intelligence operatives clearly
identified the Chief Engineer of Voyager, Lt. B’Elanna Torres,
as the greatest critic of the former Borg. Only a few of them
mentioned Commander Chakotay’s continuing lack of trust in the
drone. Fortunately for Lt. Torres, the reports made it clear
that the half-Klingon had refused to say anything about the
former Borg, and had walked away from the operatives when
pressed for information. The reports glossed over all the times
Seven had risked her life for the crew of Voyager, dismissing it
as Seven of Nine trying to justify her continuing existence as a
member of the crew. All of the information had been gathered
within a few hours at the request of Ahaoe Muahe. Apparently it
had been all the information he needed to decide that Seven of
Nine was the perfect target for his vengeance.
Janeway sighed and looked over at her First Officer; there were
only two more pieces of information to look at, the recordings
of the torture and what had taken place at the Arch of Judgment.
Before she could say anything her First Officer commented,
“Perhaps a break would be a good idea before we look at these.
I’ve read over the data the medical personnel took when they
were called to the interrogation room. It reminded me of some
of the things I saw as a Marquis that the Cardassian’s had
done. Maybe the Doctor has some information for us; I for one
would like to know that Seven is alive despite these reports.”
Janeway nodded thankfully, the medical reports had sickened her,
and she now understood why Huiah Mlaer had been so adamant that
he did not want to see any more. Janeway tapped her combadge,
“Doctor, Janeway here, I was wondering if you had finished your
analysis of the data Ensign Kim sent you?”
The Doctor replied, “Yes I have, would you like me to send it to
your console there? Or come and report to you myself?”
Janeway said, “Why don’t you come up here, I have some medical
data that I need to show you that was given to us by the
Mularans.”
The Doctor replied slowly, “I’ve heard that Seven died as a
result of being tortured. Is it the medical data from when the
Mularan medical personnel examined her?”
Janeway asked sharply, “Where did you hear that Doctor, I
haven’t released any of this information yet.”
The Doctor replied, “The Mularans announced the death of Ahaoe
Muahe twenty minutes ago for the kidnapping, torture, and murder
of Seven. It’s all over the ship by now. The medical listing
of her injuries leading up to her death, and a short segment
showing the ruling at the Arch of Judgment was made publicly
available Captain, its part of the official record of the
execution.”
Janeway sighed, “Come to my Ready Room Doctor and give me your
report. It sounds like I need to make an announcement that
Seven is alive. Though honestly after what I’ve read in these
reports a little ship wide guilt might do some good.”
It was only a few minutes before the Doctor arrived, and with a
consenting nod from Janeway began his report. “The data Ensign
Kim sent me is very contradictory. If it is correct, Seven’s
physiology has changed considerably. There is more human
physiology present now than three days ago, but at the same time
there appear to be more metallic alloy elements present as a
part of her total physiology.” The Doctor paused, and waved the
padd he was holding for emphasis, “Seven used to have
approximately 10% metallic alloy elements present in her
physiology. This information indicates that the percentage has
increased five fold to 50% metallic alloy elements.”
The hologram shook his head, a puzzled look upon his face as he
admitted, “I am uncertain as to what this could mean. It might
mean that her Borg armor has been replaced, or it might mean
something else entirely. The metallic alloy elements present
include tritanium and poly-deutonic alloy, all of which are in
some type of matrix. Perhaps with better data I, or
engineering, could figure out the specifics,” he finished.
After the Doctor left, Janeway and Chakotay stared warily at the
console on her desk. Janeway sighed, “Well only two data files
left. Let me know if you want to stop at any point, and I’ll
certainly do the same,” she said huskily.
With almost identically grim looks, the two began viewing the
information the Mularans had discovered detailing the specifics
of Seven’s torture. Thankfully, the video portion of the
information was poor, and though they could tell what happened
to Seven they were not assaulted with detailed scenes.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, the audio was excellent and they
were able to make out every word of the conversation between
Seven and Ahaoe Muahe.
Janeway watched in horrified disbelief as Ahaoe Muahe coldly
amputated Seven’s Borg arm. As she listened to the former drone
telling Muahe that the Borg did not intentionally cause pain,
the Captain was surprised and proud of Seven’s continuing
defiance of him. Fleetingly considering the statement, she
realized it was entirely accurate, the Borg might cause pain
during assimilation, but if so, it was accidental. They had no
sympathy or pity if it did, but Seven was correct the Borg did
not cause pain for the sake of causing pain.
When it became obvious that there would be no more conversation,
only Seven’s screams, she gratefully turned down the audio. The
pain filled cries tore at her, filling her with bitter regret
that she had been unable to protect her protégé. Finally, they
watched as Huiah Mlaer and the guards pulled Ahaoe Muahe away
from Seven’s mutilated body. They continued watching until the
guards with Seven’s body marched out of the room for the Arch of
Judgment and the data disk ended.
Reflecting upon the Mularan’s refusal of her requests for
clemency for Huiah Mlaer, Janeway allowed herself to feel a few
seconds of savage satisfaction at the man’s fate. It was
barbaric according to the principles she had been raised with,
but after hearing the man’s taunting of her helpless crewmember,
seeing the brutality with which he had attacked Seven, the
thought of his head being separated from the remainder of his
body was definitely satisfying. Shaking herself, she forced
down the emotions. There was still one more piece of
information to be reviewed, and she had to remember that despite
what she had just seen, Seven was actually alive.
Janeway picked up the last data disk and with an inquiring look
at Chakotay, who nodded, she inserted it into the console. They
could immediately tell that Arch of Judgment was well monitored,
unlike the previous record, this video and audio were of
excellent quality. It was also the first detailed view either
of them had of the devastation Ahaoe Muahe had wrought upon
Seven’s body, and both of them stared dazed at the
blood-drenched form on the diagnostic bed. Only Seven’s face
had been left untouched by his attack except for blood
spattering on her throat and jaw.
They continued watching in silence, listening to the disembodied
voice and Muahe’s arrogant assertion that his savagery against
Seven was justified. The announcement of her innocence and
Muahe’s guilt drew deep breaths from both, and they watched,
with at least outward impassivity, as Muahe was dragged away
after one protesting scream.
Chakotay pointed at the screen, “Look at the statue; it’s
changed, it’s glowing. Everyone’s attention is on Muahe but it
began glowing a few seconds ago.”
Janeway backed up the data to the point Chakotay indicated, and
they both focused on the statue as first the eyes and then the
entire body glowed. The two officers were silent as they
watched the statue move gracefully over to pick up the body of
Seven of Nine and bear it into the depths of the temple. After
the last of the data had finished playing Janeway asked, “What
do you make of that,” she indicated the frozen last picture on
the console, “Given that we just found signs that Seven is alive
again and somewhere inside that force field?”
Chakotay steepled his fingers together, looking pensive, “Mulara
has obviously taken an interest in her, not surprising given the
mythology surrounding her.”
Janeway gave him a curious look, “I don’t know anything about
it.”
“I looked it up when we first arrived out of curiosity.” He
replied, “Were you aware that the first time she showed up on
Mularan was 500 years ago? The Mularan’s were split into
several opposing kingdoms, and violence between them was very
common. One of these kings kidnapped the teenager daughter of
another, and had her raped and tortured. When she died a golden
light formed around her and she disappeared, at the same time
the king and all the men who had participated in the kidnapping
and rape died as well… by decapitation as a matter of fact,
probably where the traditional punishment began. The daughter
showed up almost two weeks later with a tale of a goddess who
had gathered up her body and healed her.”
Janeway looked intently at Chakotay, “Sounds a lot like what
happened to Seven. Do you think this will mean that we will
have to wait two weeks for her?”
Chakotay shrugged, “The story said almost two weeks so I would
guess that it was around 10 or so days. She died yesterday, if
it’s correct, we have somewhere between seven to twelve days
before she will be returned to us. The story also describes the
daughter’s time with the goddess as healing and peaceful, if we
are lucky Seven will be treated the same.”
Janeway nodded, “I hope so because I don’t know what Seven’s
emotional state will be after going through that. That story,
if it’s accurate, indicates that she will remember everything
that happened to her.” Janeway paced for a moment, she picked
up the PADD with the Intelligence reports, “Is the situation
between Seven and the crew as bad as this makes it out to be?
Does she really have no friends beside the Doctor and I on
Voyager?”
Chakotay paused, choosing his words carefully, “I know she is
friends with Naomi Wildman, but Seven’s mannerisms have not made
her many friends, especially in engineering. I’m certain they
don’t realize that neither you nor I consider her to be as
mature as her physical age would suggest, so they don’t
understand why we let her continue to behave the way she does.
They just see her getting away with behavior that wouldn’t be
tolerated in them.”
Janeway nodded thoughtfully, “I guess I haven’t done her any
favors by doing so, but she didn’t exactly want to join Voyager,
so I’ve tried to be easy on her. Did you know that less than
six months ago, when we found Artruis’s ship she didn’t want to
go to the Alpha Quadrant? I told her that she had no other
place to go but Voyager. I thought at the time she was merely
afraid of the unknown, now I wonder if she wasn’t more afraid of
meeting more people that might react to her the same way.”
Chakotay gently replied, “Kathryn you can’t blame yourself for
wanting her to experience her humanity. She’s grown so much
this last year, we just have to figure out how to fix the
situation that exists between her and the crew, and how to make
sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Kathryn Janeway nodded, “Any suggestions?” she asked.
Chakotay smiled, “As a matter of fact, yes. Given that the
Doctor said that the medical record and pictures of the Arch of
Judgment were posted publicly I’m betting that the entire ship
has seen them by now. B’Elanna is stubborn, but she’s also
honorable, and I bet she’s feeling pretty bad about how Seven
was treated about right now. If we can get her to change how
she treats Seven, the engineering crew should follow her
example.”
*******************************************************************
In engineering the mood was anything but jovial, there had been
a guilty pall hanging over the engineers ever since Seven’s
disappearance, and especially after Tuvok found out that several
of them had been gossiping about Seven of Nine to Mularan
Intelligence agents. The fact that they had not known the
identity of the friendly Mularans who had wanted to know more
about the ex-Borg had not diminished the decidedly disapproving
look the Security Chief had given each of them.
None of them was looking forward to the inevitable note that
would be placed in their records about their indiscretion.
Torres had already dressed several of them down for falling for
the tactic, she had been instantly suspicious of the Mularans
curiosity and her Marquis experiences had kept her from sharing
any information about Seven of Nine. She might dislike the
arrogant Borg, but she would never betray a shipmate like that.
The transmission from the Mularans of the execution of Ahaoe
Muahe for the death of Seven of Nine upset everyone. The images
of Seven of Nine’s body had been graphically shocking evidence
of her abuse, and the news that she was declared a minor under
Mularan law, just piled one shock after another in the minds of
the engineering crew.
Torres had disappeared into her office, shaken by the sight of
the dismembered and bloody body. She had read the dispassionate
medical report, and had looked up the Mularan law to find out
what was considered the age of adult hood. Now finished with
her research, she sat with her head in her hands thinking of how
Seven of Nine had acted and comparing it to her own teenage
years and seeing entirely too many similarities.
Why hadn’t Janeway made it clearer that Seven wasn’t as mentally
mature as she was physically? Memories of Janeway and Chakotay
telling her that she was expected to be above reacting to
Seven’s behavior intruded, and in the light of this new
information, B’Elanna saw their admonitions with deeper
insight. If the Captain and Chakotay considered Seven to be
socially and emotionally around the age of eighteen or so, then
of course they would tell her that she was expected to be above
reacting to Seven’s actions. Why hadn’t they made it clearer to
her? Had the Captain and Chakotay expected her to see it for
herself?
Now she would never have the chance to apologize for all the
hateful things she had said to the Borg. Never have the chance
to show the Captain that she was capable of dealing with Seven
in a mature manner. She accepted that the antagonism between
Seven and most of the engineering crew had been in part her
fault; she had not bothered to discourage it, and by doing so
had indicated to her crew that the hostile behavior was
acceptable. If she had stopped the behavior instead of tacitly
encouraging it, Seven might not be dead.
Her summons to the Bridge to speak to the Captain and First
Officer came as no surprise. She stepped out of her office, and
met the eyes of her engineering crew that immediately turned
toward her, “I must apologize to all of you,” she announced, “I
should have said something sooner about the gossip and behavior
you displayed towards Seven. I should have stopped it, but I
didn’t, instead I said nothing and by that I pretty much
encouraged all of you to continue. I’ll accept the
responsibility for the information that was given to Mularan
Intelligence; if I had behaved more like a senior officer I’m
certain the security lapse would have never occurred.”
With that, she turned and left engineering, heading for the
Bridge with a decidedly grim look on her face that had everyone
in the hallways moving to the side to stay out of her way.
Torres strode through the Bridge, ignoring Ensign Kim’s attempt
to catch her attention, and asked for permission to enter the
Captain’s Ready Room. When the door opened, she marched in and
stood stiffly at attention in front of the Captain and Commander
Chakotay.
Captain Janeway raised an eyebrow and said, “Lt. Torres I think
you know why you are here. Would you like to explain to me why
engineering had the need to share their opinions of Seven of
Nine with Mularan Intelligence?”
B’Elanna took in a deep breath, “That’s my fault Captain, I
should’ve stopped the gossip and their behavior toward Seven
months ago, but I didn’t. I realize that by doing so I was
encouraging the behavior because of my dislike of Seven. I
accept full responsibility for my crew’s actions on the space
station.”
Captain Janeway said, “Well this is a change; we’ve been trying
to get you to realize how much influence you had over your
engineering crew for months. Too bad Seven had to die before
you realized it.” Janeway was not going to pull any punches,
she was irate that the situation in engineering had been allowed
to continue as long as it had.
Lt. Torres flinched, “Yes Captain.”
Commander Chakotay asked, “Why did you let the situation in
engineering continue Lt.?”
B’Elanna paused, giving the matter some serious thought then
answered, “From the first she was rude to me; she always behaved
as if she had the right to do anything in engineering she
wanted, and I resented that both of you allowed her to. I guess
I was also jealous that she got as much of the Captain’s
attention as she did.” B’Elanna hadn’t wanted to be that
honest, but with what little honor she had left she figured
complete honesty was the only way of regaining any of it.
Janeway blinked, “You were jealous of the time I spent with
her? Did you not realize that she needed it? I made the choice
for her against her will that she would become human; I decided
that she was unable to make her own decision about the matter
and overrode her wishes. I took on the role of her guardian
B’Elanna, I thought you realized that.”
B’Elanna shook her head and said, “I’m sorry Captain, I only
realized that you and Chakotay weren’t treating her as an adult
a few minutes ago. The news that the Mularans had declared
Seven a minor caused me to think about it. I was too wrapped up
in my own reactions to see I guess.”
Janeway stared at her, “Despite what the Mularan’s decided, I
don’t know that I would classify Seven as a minor. Younger than
her biological age certainly, but I wouldn’t judge her maturity
level as being below the age of adulthood. Given the time she
lost as a Borg, the formative years we spend learning how to be
individuals, how to interact with others, it’s not surprising
that she wasn’t very skilled in those areas. I don’t see how
anyone expected her to be, after all the rest of this crew had
twelve years or more to learn what she was trying to learn
since being separated from the Collective.”
Janeway paused, a severe look upon her face, “As Federation
citizens I expected this crew to be tolerant and understanding
of her difficulties, as Starfeet officers, I expected that even
more so. It seems in many instances I was wrong on both
accounts.”
The half-Klingon flinched, understanding only too well the
Captain’s point. She herself had been afforded that
understanding and tolerance, the displays of temper and anger
that had gone unremarked in her would have undoubtedly landed a
full human on report.
“And now,” Janeway continued, “How would you treat her now
B’Elanna?”
Still recovering from the Captain’s earlier words, B’Elanna
laughed bitterly, “If she were still alive you mean? She would
still get on my nerves and infuriate me, but I hope I would
react differently. I would try to tell her what she was doing
wrong and if she continued, I would tell her to leave
engineering until she could behave in an acceptable manner. I
guess I’d be more inclined to report to you and Chakotay when
she really did something out of line, instead of just yelling at
her. But I’ll never have the chance now to make things right,
will I?”
Janeway tilted her head to the side when B’Elanna had started
speaking, but had let her finish. Now she asked, “B’Elanna you
don’t know that Seven may be alive do you? We can’t get a
transporter lock on her but we have detected her life signs in
the main temple complex where the Arch of Judgment is located.
I’m sorry, I thought that you knew.”
B’Elanna stared at her, “That’s what Harry was trying to get my
attention about, and I just walked past him. No I didn’t
know.” B’Elanna closed her eyes and a feeling of relief swept
through her, she would have the opportunity to regain her
honor. B’Elanna opened her eyes and looked at the Captain and
said, “I do have one request of you Captain.”
Janeway looked at her searchingly, she nodded and B’Elanna
continued, “Don’t let her get away with the way she treats
people. If nothing changes I can ask my people not to be
actively hostile to her, but I can’t make them like her, and she
still won’t have any friends.” B’Elanna thought, but didn’t
say, just as I didn’t have any friends when I was a teenager.
“When I’m right, and she’s out of line, back me up please.”
Janeway rubbed her forehead, “What is it that she does that
annoys people the most?”
B’Elanna shifted her weight, considering the question and tried
to respond to it as diplomatically as possible. “She treats
people as if they were inferior to her. She constantly tells
people they are inefficient, and their feelings are irrelevant.
The way she corrects mistakes makes it clear that she believes
that she would not have made them. Even though she doesn’t want
to rejoin the Collective, she makes it obvious that she compares
us to the Borg and finds us lacking. Being told that you are
inefficient and your thoughts and feelings are irrelevant…well
no one reacts well to that.”
Janeway looked at her understandingly, “I don’t want to
immediately make radical changes when she comes back, chances
are she will remember everything that happened to her and she
will need our support. I’m afraid she would take that type of
change to mean that Ahaoe Muahe told her the truth, that she’s
not welcome here. Can you be patient for a while longer, and
try and treat her gently for a few weeks. Let’s ease into the
change instead of springing it on her all at once. I don’t want
to hurt her more than she’s already been hurt.”
B’Elanna was puzzled, “What did Ahaoe Muahe say to her?”
Janeway reached over to her console and typed in a few commands,
she turned the screen around so that B’Elanna could watch the
first few minutes of Seven’s ‘interrogation’. Janeway stopped
it before Muahe moved back over to cut off Seven’s arm.
B’Elanna rubbed her forehead ridges absently and sighed, the
petaQ had taunted Seven with the things her engineering crew
had told his people. Suddenly she straightened and said
furiously, “That
Ha'DibaH!
He told Seven that I had told him those things!” B’Elanna got
up and started to pace angrily.
Janeway watched her
agitated movements for a few seconds, “Tuvok’s reports and the
information we got from the Mularan’s make it clear that you did
no such thing Lieutenant. I’ll make sure that Seven understands
that you never told Mularan Intelligence anything.”
B’Elanna turned,
responding passionately, “But she’s going to know where the
information came from, and that’s engineering, which means me.”
B’Elanna’s shoulders slumped, and she said in a quiet tone, “How
can I make this right?”
“Try to be patient
with her, figure out whether or not she means to be rude or
not. B’Elanna, she hides behind that Borg mask when she feels
uncertain or threatened. You react with anger to situations you
don’t like; she reacts by acting like the perfect Borg. Try to
remember that when you are dealing with her. Try and look for
what’s behind the behavior, instead of reacting to it,” Janeway
suggested.
B’Elanna bristled at
the comparison, but then frowned and nodded her acknowledgement
to the Captain. “If that is all Captain, I need to go back to
engineering. Let me know if there is any more news about
Seven?”
Janeway nodded, “I’ll
forward the sensor readings to you. The Doctor said he might
need your help to figure out some of the changes in Seven’s
physiology. She has a lot more metallic alloy in her physiology
than she used to, and the Doctor isn’t at all certain why.
Maybe you can tell something from the data, if we get better
sensor readings I’ll send them to you.”
B’Elanna frowned,
“The Mularans are holding Seven somewhere? The way they reacted
to her death I wouldn’t have expected that.”
Janeway gave her a
grim smile, “No the Mularan’s aren’t, but it appears that Mulara
is. There is a force field around parts of the temple, if the
Mularan mythology is correct we won’t be allowed to retrieve
Seven for several more days.”
B’Elanna nodded
thoughtfully, “That’s why we diverted all available power to the
sensors. We still can’t punch through the force field? Could
you send me the information on the force field as well? Maybe I
can figure out some way to get through it.”
Janeway nodded,
“Thank you for offering to help B’Elanna.”
B’Elanna nodded
sourly, not feeling at all as if she should be thanked for
helping get Seven out of a situation she had contributed
toward. After her dismissal, she left the Ready Room and walked
over to Harry Kim, “What do you have on this force field?”
Harry briefly smiled
at her, and then indicated a readout on his console, “Look at
this, see that power reading. I’ve never seen a force field
this strong, but I’ve finally found what’s powering it. I
think,” He added. “I’m getting readings indicating some type of
quantum singularity inside the force field, and I believe that
is where the force field is getting its power. The interesting
thing is that before we diverted power to the sensors we were
picking up readings on Seven from inside the force field, and we
shouldn’t have been able to, not with that strong of a force
field. Even now we shouldn’t be able to get the type of
detailed readings that we are.”
Tom, who was at the
helm, commented lightly, “I don’t see why everyone is so worried
about Seven, she always turns up ok. I’m sure we will get her
back and she will be her charming Borg self.”
B’Elanna rounded on
him angrily, “Ghuy'cha,’ I’d hardly call being tortured
to death ok Tom, it’s not like she’s just going to be able to
forget that. Nor will she forget that it was engineering that
was so eager to talk to her torturer’s intelligence people and
that’s my fault.”
Tom gaped for a
second, then his face darkened, “Hey, what are you talking
about? I thought she was detained by Mularan Intelligence? I
mean she is alive, I know Harry’s been scanning for her this
past hour or so.”
Both B’Elanna and
Harry stared at him incredulously, “Haven’t you been paying any
attention to the reports?” Harry finally asked the helmsman.
Paris flushed, “No,”
he admitted, “At least not any after the initial report that she
had been taken by Mularan Intelligence.”
Torres rolled her
eyes, she could guess at what other things Tom had been doing
while the ship was at station keeping orbiting the planet. Helm
had nothing to do besides make sure the ship didn’t deviate from
its orbit, so Tom had probably been engrossed with working on
his latest Captain Proton holonovel and completely ignoring
everything else happening around him.
B’Elanna growled at
Tom, “You need to read the reports before making any comments
about Seven. No one deserves to be tortured to death! And
certainly not Seven... Not after all the times she’s risked her
life for us.” With that, B’Elanna strode angrily from the
Bridge leaving a confused Tom Paris staring after her.
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