Copyright 2001, Susan S. McCrackin  Reprinted with permission of the author.

She stared at his face, her own hardening. He frowned as he watched the coldness that came into her eyes.

"Seven?" He was surprised at her reaction.

"Gerald." Her voice was venomous.

He gave her an uncertain grin, "Not really Gerald. My name is Motalli. Gerald was an alias. I was sort of a mole, an undercover agent, if you will. My job was to protect you until we could get you safely away from the Federation." He gave her a friendly laugh, "We knew they would never keep their promises to a Borg, and that you would need to be rescued from them."

Her eyes narrowed. Suddenly, she knew he was not the man in her thoughts. She stayed quiet, allowing him to continue.

"We have been planning this rescue mission ever since we heard you were going to be coming back with Voyager." He looked at the bandage on the side of her face, "I’m sorry you were hurt, Seven. We ran into problems trying to rescue you."

She did not answer him, but continued to watch his eyes.

"We think you might have been hurt when the warp core exploded on the transport ship. We’ve been afraid to remove your restraints. We would like to do that now. Do you think you are up to it?"

She had not really thought about her body. She looked down to see that she was still in restraints. She had gotten so used to them that she was not even aware they were still on her. Concentrating on her body, she was suddenly aware of various spots of pain. Regardless, she nodded at him.

He motioned a couple of people over, "Seven, I am going to unlock your restraints one at a time. We don’t want to move you out of your chair until we are able to determine how badly you might have been hurt. Please let me know if anything I do causes you pain."

She gave him another nod.

He unlocked the restraint on her right arm, and she flexed it carefully. She noticed a soreness in her right shoulder, but could tell she had control of it. Her eyes told him to continue. He reached and unlocked the restraint on her left arm, and she could not stop the groan that resulted as a blinding pain shot through the arm. Motalli immediately reached to support her arm.

"I am going to check it, Seven." He gave her an apologetic look, "We don’t have medical scanners on board so we are going to have to do this the hard way." She prepared herself, and he manipulated her arm, watching her face as he did so. "Broken." He spoke to one of the people, "Get the splint."

She watched as they splinted her arm, noting the gentleness with which they did so. No, Motalli was definitely not the man in her head. She did not know who these people were, but she knew they did not intend her any harm.

Once the arm was splinted, they continued to slowly remove the restraints. She had been damaged. Being restrained in the chair had provided her with some protection, but she still had suffered a number of broken bones, the worse being her left leg. She almost passed out as they tried to splint the break in her thigh. Motalli cradled her head in his lap as they had moved her down to the floor to treat her leg. He stroked her hair and tried his best to comfort her. She watched as the woman who served as the main medic finally looked at her, grim faced.

"Seven, we have done the best we can for you. Do you think your Borg implants will help your recovery if we let you regenerate some more?"

She glanced up at the regeneration unit, "Maybe. If you will help me into the alcove, we will see." 

They tried to lift her carefully, but the smallest amount of movement sent shivers of pain through her body. She could not hold up her body. Even after they activated the regeneration mechanism, she could not take her position. Finally, she shook her head at them, "I think I am going to have to recover the ‘hard way,’ as you say."

They carefully carried her to a small bed and tried to make her as comfortable in it as they could. Motalli pulled up a chair and sat beside her.

"I will need additional nutritional supplements to assist me."

"We will try to get whatever you need." He frowned at her, "Seven, our warp core was damaged when the transport ship exploded. We can only travel at maximum impulse. It will be another two days before we can get to our planet."

"Your planet?"

"Yes, it is our hide out. It is a planet surrounded by strong electrical storms that shield us against most scans. It’s a safe place. Once we get there, we have people who will be able to take better care of you. We just never thought rescuing you would be so dangerous."

"At least you rescued me."

He grinned and nodded his head at her. Then, he sobered, "Seven, I, uh, I want you to know how sorry I am about the Doctor."

She did not say anything.

"I want you to know, we had a plan to save him also. Unfortunately, the other side got to him first. I’m sorry. We weren’t fast enough."

She frowned at him, "The other side?"

He nodded, "The anti-Borg, anti-technology faction. We knew they planned to kill the Doctor. Our intelligence information was incomplete. We didn’t realize their plan was moving forward as quickly as it did."

She just looked at him. Finally, she asked, "And your people?"

"I guess you would call us the Borg Sympathizers."

She raised her eyebrow at him. Then, she turned to look around the room, a sharp pain running through the side of her face as she did. Involuntarily, she reached up with her right hand to touch her face. She felt the bandage that ran down the side of her face and her neck.

"You were cut, Seven. I’m afraid you are going to have a pretty bad scar. I don’t think our people will be able to do much about that."

She thought for a moment, "It will not matter."

He gave her a long look, holding her eyes intently, "You’re right." His voice was soft, "It won’t matter."

She looked at him, surprised at what she saw in his eyes and uncertainty filled hers. Then, she closed them and tried to find sleep.

"Ensign Kim?"

Harry barely glanced up to look at Neelix.

"Don’t you think maybe we should return?" He moved close, almost cautiously, the darkness of the room making it hard to read Harry’s eyes. Supala sat across the room and watched carefully. "I don’t know how we can help her now, Harry. Seven’s dead."

Neelix watched a dark smile come across the young ensign’s face, "No, you are wrong, Neelix."

"What do you mean?"

"Seven’s not dead."

Neelix glanced over at Supala, frowning deeply, "Ensign Kim, Seven was killed. The Federation confirmed it."

But Harry shook his head, "No. If she were dead I would know it." He touched his heart, "I would know it here. She is still alive. I know it. I can still feel her."

Neelix moved backwards from Harry, suddenly afraid for the young man’s sanity. He looked helplessly at Supala, hoping for help. The look on her face surprised him.

Supala looked at him and nodded her head, "He’s right. Seven is still alive."

They had finally arrived at the planet, and Seven had been carried carefully into a primitive treatment room. Despite the best efforts of the doctors, they could not heal her body enough for her to be able to hold up her weight in the alcove, so she was forced to rely on rest again. Motalli and his people managed to rig up a small regeneration unit and that was helping. Still, she was healing slowly.

He stayed by her side constantly. When she went to sleep, his face was the last thing she saw. When she awoke, his face was the first thing she saw. He helped her eat. He washed her hair. She was almost grateful he allowed the female attendant to help her bathe. 

And he was helping her mourn. He talked to her about the Doctor and held her while she cried. He brought her every bit of news they could find out about Kathryn B’Elanna. It wasn’t much, but she was thankful for every small tidbit.

After a couple of weeks, she was finally able to hold up her weight in the alcove, and Motalli stayed with her while she regenerated. They planned on an eight-hour cycle, and he was there when it ended. Gingerly, she tried to step out of the alcove on her own, and collapsed in his arms.

"Not enough?"

"Not quite," she responded, "but it is better. I can tell. I will regenerate again later. Right now, I think I should eat. My human body is requiring attention." She gave him a smile, and he grinned at her in return.

"So," he picked her up and gently placed her back in her bed, "what would you say to breakfast in bed?"

Her face froze, and he looked at her in shock.

"What? What did I say?" He sat down in the chair beside her, "Seven, tell me, what’s wrong?"

Finally, she found her voice, "Nothing."

He gave her a long look, then sighed, "My guess is whatever I said has something to do with the Doctor." When she did not respond, he moved closer to her, "I’m sorry, Seven. I would never say anything to hurt you. I hope I didn’t bring up any bad memories for you."

She slowly shook her head, "No, no bad memories." She gave him a sad laugh, "Good memories, actually." Then, she managed to give him a brave look, "Breakfast in bed had a special meaning for us."

Motalli moved from the chair to sit on the bed next to Seven and lifted her hand to hold it gently, "Why don’t you tell me about it?"

To her great surprise, she did.

The computer signaled an incoming message. B’Elanna frowned slightly, not wanting to move to check it, afraid that doing so would wake To’mas. She reached forward slowly, pulling at the PADD with her fingers, sliding it to her one finger at a time. She almost had it when Miral walked into the room.

"Kathryn B’Elanna is finally asleep." Miral sat down heavily in the chair opposite her, "The child will make a good warrior one day. She fights hard." Her eyes were drawn to the flashing signal on the PADD, and she reached for it, activating it. Her eyes widened, and she caught her breath, then she cut her eyes quickly to B’Elanna.

"What is it, Mother?"

Miral breathed deeply, "You should give me To’mas." She walked over to her daughter and held out her arms for her grandson. B’Elanna took one look at her face and handed her son to her, then accepted the PADD from her mother’s hand and read.

Her mouth fell open, and she looked at her mother in horror.

"You should call your husband. We must talk."

They sat around the table. They had been talking for hours. The PADD was on the table between them. Periodically, one of the three of them would pick the PADD up, read the message on it and place it back on the table. 

Tom looked at the two women around him, "We should tell the Captain."

Miral shook her head, "No, I do not think so."

"Then, we should at least tell my father."

"Absolutely not!"

"Why not?"

"Tom, this message came in on a secure channel. It is untraceable. What makes you think the Federation did not send it? Your father is Federation."

His face grew angry, but B’Elanna put her hand on her husband’s arm. "Tom, there are only two people we can trust right now, and neither of them are Federation."

He looked at her a long moment before nodding his head. He gave Miral a glance, then looked back to B’Elanna with a question in her eyes. She gave him an affirmative nod, and he turned to look at his mother-in-law.

"Miral, there is something we need to tell you about Kathryn B’Elanna."

B’Elanna and Kathryn B’Elanna were traveling to see Ketaria. It had taken them a number of hours to get the child alert enough to travel. Still, KB was moving them quickly and easily. B’Elanna knew immediately that KB understood what was going on. It did not take long for Ketaria to come into view.

"B’Elanna, Kathryn B’Elanna, what is wrong?"

"Ketaria! It is so good to see you." B’Elanna suddenly looked around, surprised, "This did not take long." 

Ketaria smiled at her, "We are closer than you think, B’Elanna. Kahkar and I are very close to the space station."

"What?"

"Yes. We are heavily cloaked. The Federation does not know we are here."

"That’s good."

"What has happened, B’Elanna?"

"How much do you know?"

"We know from Kathryn B’Elanna that her mother and father are dead."

She heard the pain in Ketaria’s voice, "Yes, they are. Tom and I have been given temporary custody of KB, but I have just received a message that I am to voluntarily give up custody of KB or To’mas will be killed. Tom and I are to sign over rights to Claudia Hansen. We are to keep quiet to protect our son."

Ketaria put her hands to her head, "We were afraid of that." She paused a moment, then looked at her, "B’Elanna, you must do exactly what you have been told to do. And tell no one. Kahkar and I need a little more time to prepare. Do not worry about Kathryn B’Elanna. I will be with her. You must protect your son. I will protect your daughter. You will get her back."

"My daughter." B’Elanna whispered the words.

"Yes, your daughter. What you will do is necessary to protect her life. Give her up and trust us. We will protect her. We just need a little more time." She kneeled down to look at the child, "Kathryn B’Elanna, you come to me each night. Do not bring B’Elanna with you anymore. Do not talk to B’Elanna anymore. Do you understand?"

"Yes." B’Elanna was surprised at the strength and confidence of the child’s voice.

"Kathryn B’Elanna, you will soon leave B’Elanna. Do not be afraid. We will talk every night. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

Ketaria stood and looked at B’Elanna, "I will communicate with you when I have to. It may be dangerous for us to communicate without Kathryn B’Elanna’s help in protecting you. Keep your mind quiet and protected. Use the tools I taught you. We do not yet know what power we are dealing with. That puts us at a disadvantage. Be very careful."

"But we know who it is."

"Yes, we do know that. But knowing who he is is only the first step. Know your enemy fully. That means, not only his face, but his power. We know his face. We do not fully know his power.

B’Elanna nodded at her, fighting the tears that were coming to her eyes.

Ketaria saw the tears and smiled at her, "B’Elanna, I know that giving her up will be difficult, but you must do this. And, you are not really giving her up. You are doing what you must to protect her. Trust us."

B’Elanna nodded reluctantly, and they were turning to leave when Ketaria stopped her, "B’Elanna, who will know?"

"Tom and my mother."

Ketaria nodded, "Do not let anyone else know. Not even Kathryn Janeway. And keep Tom and your mother close to you. As soon as we can, we will get you to safety. The fewer people who know about it, the better. If Kathryn B’Elanna is to ever be safe, we must find a way to get to this man who threatens her and put a stop to him. Until we do, she will never be safe. Trust us, B’Elanna."

"I do, Ketaria."

"Now, return. Keep your mind quiet and be brave." She gave them both a smile, "Goodbye."

They turned and left. As soon as B’Elanna opened her eyes, she looked at her husband and her mother. She gave herself a minute, then started to tell them the plan.

Kathryn Janeway sat, aghast at what she was seeing and hearing. She had been trying for the last hour to contact Tom and B’Elanna, but neither would answer nor return her calls. She kept playing the newscast over and over, still not believing it.

There was B’Elanna, leaning heavily against her husband, looking ill as their representative read a statement from the couple. She had been crying as the representative spoke of her ill health and her inability to care for the Borg’s child and her own. The Paris family would be petitioning the court to revoke their rights to custody of Kathryn B’Elanna in favor of Claudia Hansen, the only blood relative of the child. The representative spoke of the couple’s deep sorrow at their inability to carry out the wishes of the deceased Borg and their hope for the happiness and well being of the child. The representative ended by saying couple truly believed this to be the best thing for the child and for their own family. Then, they had turned and left, not answering any questions and the cameras had captured them as Tom painfully led his wife away.

She was setting the monitor to replay the report when the computer announced Dr. Zimmerman and Counselor Troi. Dr. Zimmerman face was red with fury.

"Did you know about this?"

"No," she shook her head, "I had no idea. I don’t understand this at all. I cannot believe B’Elanna would ever do something like this."

"Well, I can tell you one thing," Dr. Zimmerman stood in front of her, his index finger waving in the air, "I am going to fight this."

She nodded at him, "Good, I’m glad."

Dr. Zimmerman looked at the monitor, his face alive with anger, "Claudia Hansen will never have her. They might be blood kin, but," he turned to face Janeway, a look of determination coming over his face, "it was my genetic pattern that was used to conceive her. I think I can make a strong argument that Kathryn B’Elanna is actually my daughter."

Janeway looked at him, encouraged by his words, then scared for what that might mean. If the Federation found out about her true genetic makeup, Kathryn B’Elanna would never be safe.

"Dr. Zimmerman, think about what you are saying, and what that might mean. We will fight this, but we might have to find another way."

A look of realization came over his face, and he grimly nodded. Sitting down on the sofa, he looked at her, "Then tell me, Captain, what other options do we have?"

She looked at him, suddenly unable to think of anything.

Captain Kathryn Janeway had been up all night, thinking. Finally, in the early hours of the morning, her mind cleared, and her plan came together. Now, as she thought about it, she realized it was what she should have done in the beginning. It was so simple. Why had she not thought about it before now?

She looked around the small room, waiting on them to come. She picked up her mug of coffee and took a long sip. It had cooled considerably in the time she had sat here thinking.

She had put all of her trust in the Federation. In the years she had been gone, her faith in the Federation had kept her going. She believed in the system.

Now, she knew, she had been blinded by her belief.

Admiral Paris had tried to warn her. So had Kahkar Omarahn.

Her belief, her absolute trust in the organization for which she wore this uniform had cost the lives of the Doctor and of Seven. Tears sprang to her eyes as she thought about them.

She allowed herself to fully admit to herself that she considered Seven the daughter she had never had. She had watched her struggle to become human, to let go of the pull of the Borg. It had not been until she, herself, had been assimilated, that she had been able to understand even a little of what Seven had endured. The pull of the collective was incredibly strong, and the removal of the implants painful. Yet, Seven had endured that and had gone on to learn to live as a human, to love and to become a wife and a mother.

Seven knew that her arrival on Earth would make her a victim. But she carried out the wishes of the Captain – at the cost of her own life.

The Doctor had believed in her. He had trusted her and appreciated every opportunity she had given him to grow beyond his programming. When it had mattered the most, she had failed to protect him.

She had failed to protect both of them. She would not repeat her mistake with their daughter.

The door opened, and Chakotay walked in, followed by Tuvok and his family. She had asked Tom and B’Elanna to come, but she was still not able to communicate with them. They would not return her calls. She was not certain she blamed them. As they took her seat, Dr. Zimmerman walked in and closed the door behind him. He moved to sit at down, and all eyes turned toward her.

She stood, "Thank you for coming." She took a long moment to look each of them in the eye before she started talking.

"Seven," Motalli’s voice was grief-stricken, "we will go after her. We will get her back for you. I promise you. We will get her."

She was sitting, holding the PADD in her hand, watching the report play over and over. She looked up at him, disbelief in her eyes.

"Seven," he moved to her, taking the PADD from her and lifting her face to his, "I promise you. We will get Kathryn B’Elanna. We will bring her to you. I have already ordered a ship to be prepared. We will leave at the first light in the morning."

She nodded to him. He would get her child for her. She believed him. She believed in him completely. She looked into his eyes and saw the truth of him in them. He loved her. The look in his eyes reminded her of the way the Doctor had looked at her. She slowly nodded her head, and he reached out to take her hand, starting to lead her back to her small room.

"We have operatives on the space station who will help us. They have already located Kathryn B’Elanna and have devised a diversion. The court has allowed your aunt to take her. Your aunt is, fortunately, a woman of meticulous order and habits. We have already plotted her daily schedule and know that she will take Kathryn B’Elanna to a play area at ten hundred hours in two days. We will make our move and will get her at that time. Our ships are cloaked, and we have a technology that does not allow their scans to get a lock on us. We will escape from the space station in a bearing directly opposite of this planet and will then reverse our direction and make our way back here." He stopped outside her small room and took both her hands in his, "I will get her, Seven, or I will die trying."

She looked deeply in his eyes, then responded, "Thank you."

He gave her a slight nod. Looking longingly in her eyes, he gave a reluctant sigh, "I’ll go now, Seven. Sleep well."

He squeezed her hands, then turned to leave.

"Motalli."

He turned to face her.

"You do not have to leave."

He looked at her, uncertain. Then, he said, "Seven, you don’t owe me anything."

She did not respond, but turned and walked into her room, leaving the door open for him. Turning back to him, she waited.

He hesitated a moment, then walked inside and closed the door behind him. She stood, her eyes locked on his. He moved toward her and lifted his hand to touch her face. Slowly, he leaned forward to kiss her softly on the lips. When she did not move away from him, he put his arms around her and pulled her to him. When she responded to him, he reached down and lifted her in his arms, carried her to the bed, and put her down on it and stretched himself out on her, kissing her more passionately. 

Suddenly, he stopped, pulled back and reached for her left hand, raising it. Looking at it, he fingered the gold band around her ring finger. Turning his eyes back to her face, he gave her a long look, then leaned forward to softly kiss her on the lips, before pushing himself off of her. He stood, holding her left hand with his fingers feeling the band of gold.

He shook his head at her, "When you come to me out of love, we will be together. But," he added ruefully, "right now, there is still you and the Doctor." He lowered her hand to rest on her stomach, patted it regretfully, turned and walked away.

She watched him leave, not certain of what she was feeling. As soon as he had touched her, she had known. There was still only the Doctor. She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Standing, she starting walking around the room. Despite frequent regeneration, she still walked with a limp. The alcove they had fashioned was adequate, but it was not Borg, so her regeneration was not as successful as it needed to be for her body to fully heal. She laughed. It was her anger that was giving her body strength. Anger was her nourishment.

B’Elanna. How could you? I trusted you, and you have betrayed me. Captain Janeway. I tried to do everything you wanted me to do and look what it cost me. Kahkar and Ketaria. I trusted you to come. Where were you?

Only Motalli had kept his word to her. He would save her daughter. Just as he had saved her. 

Suddenly, she frowned. Kathryn B’Elanna would know he was coming for her, but she would not understand what that meant. He might frighten her. Unless she was with him. 

She limped over to look at the mirror, fingering the scar that ran down the side of her face. She was more gaunt than she had been when the people at the station had last seen her, but she was still very recognizable. The implants assured her of that, as did her long blond hair. She fingered her hair.

They had betrayed her. They had all betrayed her.

Her anger was fueling her, feeding her. 

She would help get her daughter back. 

Motalli stood and watched the sunrise over the lake. He knew there was a good chance this would be the last time he would see this sunrise, and he did not want to miss a moment of it. He had spent a sleepless night, second-guessing his decision to leave Seven’s bed. His desire for her had been strong, but his desire for her love was stronger. He wanted her out of love, not out of appreciation. She was still in love with the Doctor and not yet over his death. If he were ever to have a life with her, she would have to have time to get over the Doctor’s death. That is, if he survived the rescue attempt. 

It was a risky operation, and he knew it. Still, he had to try it. He had to try to get her child back. He knew that if he didn’t, she would.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him. Turning, he saw boots standing on the rock behind his head and he heard a voice.

"It is time to leave."

Surprised, his eyes traveled up the body slowly, taking in everything that he saw. The boots were strong and sturdy, each with a knife strapped to the tops. The left leg had a metal brace attached at the waist, running down the side and ending just below the knee. The brace had a working joint, and he recognized it as an invention of one of their scientists, designed to support and enhance limb strength. It was a take-off on some of the Borg technology their scientists had been working on. The right leg had a phaser attached to it, belted at the waist and again just above the knee. It had been designed to shoot nanoprobes and was one of the deadliest phasers their people had created.

His eyes traveled higher, and he saw a vest of armor, again an invention of their scientists. The vest was designed to repel phaser shots. It worked on a modulating frequency, just like the Borg. Across it were two belts of ammunition, crossed on the chest, and he recognized more types of new and dangerous weapons. He looked up at the face, squinting to see who was standing in front of him. Frowning he stood, seeing the person wore a headband, placed high on the forehead, holding a cloth that draped around the head, cut to open only at the eyes, covering the nose and opening again for the mouth.. The band and the cloth covered most of the dark brown, razor-cut spiky hair, cropped short and uneven. 

He stood so he could look the person in the eyes, catching his breath as he did. The first thing he noticed were the blackest eyes he could ever remember seeing. He did not think he had ever seen such anger in anyone’s eyes before. For the briefest moment, he wondered if the person standing before him was insane. Suddenly, he saw them – the edge of the implant on the left side of the face and the scar circling the chin.

"Seven?"

"It is time for us to leave, Motalli."

He could not believe what he was seeing. It was Seven. "What in the world?"

"I am going with you."

"Seven," he was almost too shocked to speak, "I don’t think that is a good idea."

"You will not be able to get close to Kathryn B’Elanna without me."

"Seven…."

"I am going with you."

Suddenly, he knew it would not do any good to argue with her. Against his better judgment, he nodded his head. Still, he pulled himself up in front of her and spoke, making his voice firm, "But you will have to follow my orders. I am in charge of this rescue mission."

She stared at him, "Understood."

"Good. Let’s leave."

She nodded, but he watched as her eyes looked out over the sun as it rose over the lake. Frowning, he said, "I will give you a moment." Then, he left.

She stood on the rock, looking out at the sunrise, but not seeing it. She was thinking, thinking the same thoughts she had thought all night long. It had taken her a long time to realize it, and then an even longer time to accept it.

There was no safety for her in the Alpha Quadrant. As good as Motalli was, he would never understand that neither she, nor Kathryn B’Elanna could ever find safety in the Alpha Quadrant. And, they could not return to the Delta Quadrant. That is, unless she delivered both of them to the Borg. There would be safety with the Borg, but she would not surrender herself or her daughter to the Borg.

There really was only one answer. She had to get them both to a place where no one would ever be able to hurt them or use them. As long as they existed in either place, they would be pawns to be used in a war against the other side. She could not afford for the Borg to have her or her daughter. She also understood she could not trust humanity either.

She lifted her face to the sun, feeling the beginnings of warmth on her face. She could see its light filtering through her closed eyes. Thinking sadly about Motalli, she concentrated on the sun’s increasing heat on her face. Then, she opened her eyes to stare at it.

They would get her daughter. Then, she would take her daughter to the only safety she could find. And no one had better get in her way.

B’Elanna. Janeway. Old friends. New enemies. She looked at the band of gold on her hand one more time, then slipped the metallic glove on it, hiding her Borg exoskeleton. 

She started to turn to join Motalli, then, hesitatingly turned toward the rising sun one more time. How ironic, she thought, that the brightest of lights would bring her and her daughter the comfort of darkness.

The End.