by Various
“It’s not that simple and you know it, Chakotay.” Janeway rose and began pacing restlessly. “The Doctor tells me he can treat her. He also tells me that he might be able to keep her stable if we were to link the computer back into her cortical node again, but that the risk of her neural function deteriorating further is high.” Chakotay sat silently, waiting. “Chakotay, what if I can get this crew home and I don’t take the chance?”
“Kathryn,” he said softly, “you’ll get us home. No one doubts that. But what if you get us home and lose your humanity along the way?” Janeway looked at him sharply. “The information Seven has in her head might get us home in a matter of weeks or months. She might even be willing to sacrifice herself to get us there. But I know you, Kathryn. I know you would never be able to live with yourself for it, because it would mean that you turned your back on one of your own. Someone who trusted you to teach her about herself and her own humanity. It would make you no different than the Borg you freed her from.”
“And what of my duty to my crew to get them home? I can’t turn my back on that, either.”
“The way I see it, we aren’t any worse off than we ever were. We’re better, actually, since now we have at least some of the Lynnrali equations. One day we might crack the missing sections and make use of their knowledge. Until then, we keep going, we keep struggling, but we remember who we are. You know the choice you need to make, Kathryn.”
Janeway sighed and then smiled at her first officer. “Yes, I do. I always did. I just needed to hear you speak for my better angels. What would I do without you, Chakotay?”
Seven opened her eyes to a bright light above her. Blinking, the Doctor’s face came into focus. He smiled down at her. She frowned back at him, confused.
“Why am I in sickbay?” she demanded. The Doctor glanced to the side, and she followed his gaze. Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay stood on the other side of her biobed, looking anxiously at her. “What happened?”
“What do you remember last, Seven?” the Doctor asked.
“I was . . . I had gone to Commander Chakotay’s quarters. He was going to teach me about vision quests because I had been troubled with dreams. But I do not recall the dreams now.”
Janeway sighed softly. “We had hoped you might remember . . . ah, well, it isn’t important now. All that matters is that you are well, Seven.”
“Explain,” she said. The Doctor stepped in.
“Not now. You need to rest. I’m going to keep you here and when I am satisfied with your progress, I will release you directly to your regeneration alcove for the next twenty-four hours.”
“But—”
“Resistance is futile, Seven,” he stated with a smirk. “Doctor’s orders. Visiting hours are over.”
Seven glared at the Doctor as he ushered Janeway and Chakotay away from her. On his way out, Seven noticed that Chakotay stopped and looked back at her, a small, proud smile on his handsome face. Then she didn’t notice anything as she drifted into a dreamless sleep.
A few days later, the door signal chimed in Chakotay’s quarters. He opened the doors, surprised to see Seven on the other side, looking distinctly uncomfortable.
“Come in, Seven,” he said, stepping aside so she could enter. “How are you feeling?”
“I am well, Commander. Thank you.” She stood awkwardly in the center of his living space, uncertain. “I am sorry, I should not have come. I am disturbing you.”
“Not at all, Seven. Please, sit down.”
She sat on the edge of a chair and looked at him, then took a steadying breath. “I reviewed the reports of the past few days, and I know more of what happened, though I still have no memory of . . . any of it. But I wanted to say thank you for helping me. With the vision quest, I mean.”
“You’re welcome,” he said simply.
“I do not agree with Captain Janeway’s decision. She should have attempted to extract the data needed to get Voyager home. I am only one person. She should not have put my life above the needs of the rest of the crew.”
“She didn’t, Seven.”
“I do not understand.”
“If she was willing to sacrifice you just to get information that might be helpful in getting us home, then she would have lost her way as a human being. She would have been disregarding the needs of the crew by doing that.”
“I am still not certain I understand.”
“You will.”
Seven looked about the room, and her gaze landed on Chakotay’s medicine bundle. “Actually, I came here to ask if it would be inappropriate for you to continue teaching me about your vision quests?”
His eyes opened wide in surprise. “Not at all. But before—”
“The Doctor has assured me they will not have any similar negative effects on me, now that he has neutralized the influence of the Lynnrali implant.”
“In that case, I would be honored. And your medicine bundle is still here. I kept it safe for you.” He considered her thoughtfully. “Not that I am going to turn you away from seeking a vision quest, but why do you want to do this? You were so skeptical before.”
Seven considered her words carefully. “I am uncertain, only that it feels appropriate. The woman, Eilara, was the last being I assimilated as a drone. I was the last being she saw as a free person. I cannot explain it, but perhaps there is a way that I can remember her, respect her with your ritual. It seems like the right thing to do.”
Chakotay smiled gently at her and prepared his ritual space in silence. Soon, he and Seven settled comfortably on the deck of his living room, their hands gently touching the akoonah.
“A-koo-chee-moya,” Chakotay chanted softly. “We are far from the sacred places of our grandfathers. We are far from the bones of our people. But perhaps there is one spirit who will embrace this woman and give her guidance.”
Seven opened her eyes and looked at herself. No, it is not me, but she looks very much like me. The woman was taller, with green eyes instead of blue, and hair a shade or two lighter. She was singing with a young girl and handsome man in a sunny, green park. She looked up as Seven approached her, and she smiled. She held out a hand and Seven took it. Chakotay would swear to the end of his days that the spirits of the two women spiraled about one another into one cohesive whole. His tears trickled unashamedly down his cheeks as he watched Seven walk toward them, a smile as bright as the sun lighting her from within.
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ISBN 978-1-5011-6158-2
