Copyright 2000, Susan S. McCrackin  Reprinted with permission of the author.

He walked into the darkened room slowly, waiting for the doors to close behind him before he moved forward. The first thing he noticed was the deep hum that pervaded the room, then the strange, green glow that seemed to lurk around the corners. He could see her immediately, standing still and straight, her eyes closed. He stood and watched the light above her head, noticing how the lightening-like bolts danced in the circle. 

He slowly walked up to her, still trying to work out what he would say to her if she opened her eyes. He had every right to be here. He was here at the order of the Federation. He did not really have to explain himself

She did not appear to be aware that he was close. Part of him felt he could reach out and touch her, and she would not know it. He was tempted to do so, just to see what would happen, but he didn’t. No sense tempting fate.

He stepped up on the platform and stood close to her, his eyes locked on the implant over her eye. If the plan worked, there would no longer be a need for implants. He laughed. If the plan worked, there would no longer be a need for the alliance with the Borg. Plus, the Borg would be too afraid of the power of the humans to wage war against Earth. It would be a win, win situation. But, the Borg did not need to know that yet. He still needed them. Just like they needed him. 

Like the Borg and he needed Seven of Nine.

They always referred to her as Seven of Nine. At first, he had thought that strange. Now, he just accepted it as a matter of fact. That is who she was. He had a very difficult time not referring to her as that when he talked to her. Seven seemed…imprecise.

He stepped back and allowed his eyes to look her over carefully. She would be appealing to the people of Earth. If live images of her with her child in her arms were broadcast, he knew they would be an immediate hit. They would have to make certain that did not happen. He thought about the plans that were being made. He would have to find a way to disrupt them. The people of Earth had to be, at the very least, ambivalent toward her. When she disappeared from sight, it would be important that no one cared.

They would have to make certain they handled the child correctly. It was possible the people would be sympathetic toward the child. They would leave her with the hologram for a while. That would keep the drone mollified. He knew enough about her to know she would cooperate as long as she thought the child was safe.

She cared more for the child that he thought she would have. And it was obvious that she was deeply in love with the hologram. He found that disgusting. How could someone like her ever be happy with that thing? It was just proof to him that she was something less than human. That made it easier to do what he had to do. As long as he continued to consider her a non-human, he could keep moving forward with his plan. Besides, her sacrifice would ensure the safety of all humans. Certainly, she would find comfort in that.

He stepped down from the alcove platform, looking at the alcove. Her progeny would not need alcoves. They would not need to regenerate. They would not stand in a cold cargo bay, regenerating and totally vulnerable to anyone who wanted to walk up to them while they remained unknowing. He could kill her right now, and she would not be able to fight him.

It was good she would be redeemed by the sacrifice she would make. It would justify her life.

B’Elanna and Kathryn B’Elanna stood, watching the man standing in front of Seven. B’Elanna was fighting a deep fear, her eyes moving quickly back and forth between Kathryn B’Elanna and the man. Somehow, she knew, if the man raised a hand to her mother, Kathryn B’Elanna would kill him. She was relieved when she saw the man step down from the alcove, turn and leave.

Kathryn B’Elanna turned to her, "Bad man."

"Yes, KB, he is a bad man. But you must not act like he is a bad man."

She narrowed her eyes and turned to stare at her mother, "Bad man wants to hurt Mama."

"KB, you are only to tell Ketaria. Kahkar will take care of the man."

She sighed, "Kaykay do. Katherine B’Elanna not do."

"That is right, KB. Katherine B’Elanna not do. Kahkar will do. You let Kahkar take care of your mother."

She stood pouting, and B’Elanna knew she did not like being what she was being told. Finally, she spoke, her voice resigned, "Kaykay do. Katherine B’Elanna not do."

B’Elanna was relieved. She felt Kathryn B’Elanna move deeper, and she followed her, knowing the child was reaching out to touch her mother’s mind. She saw her stop almost immediately. B’Elanna waited to join her until she could see Seven more clearly.

Seven was sitting sideways to the darkness, her knees pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around her knees. She was not looking at the darkness, but B’Elanna could tell she was thinking about it. She wondered if Seven had been aware of the man who had been standing so close to her. The idea that someone could walk up that close to her without her knowing it was chilling. She had never thought about how vulnerable Seven was while regenerating in the alcove. There had to be a way to gently suggest they install a security system on it once she was settled on Earth. 

For the first time, B’Elanna Torres-Paris truly understood Kahkar Omarahn’s fear. She was starting to believe, as did he, that the Alpha Quadrant would not be that much safer for Seven than had the Delta Quadrant been.

Or for Kathryn B’Elanna.

She looked down at the child at her feet, noticing that she had settled down to watch over her mother for the night. B’Elanna sighed and settled down beside her. It was going to be another long night.

The doors opened and he walked in, seeing the back to him once again. He stood, waiting on his instructions.

"Please, come in. Have you been able to establish a secure channel?"

"Yes."

"Good." He turned from the view window to face his visitor, "We have an interesting report to send them."

"I take it you have met her."

"Yes, I have."

"What did you think?"

"She is impressive. We will have to act early to ensure the people of Earth do not have the opportunity to see her in a positive light. They would be intrigued by her at first, then taken in by her."

"Are you implying she would assimilate them?"

He heard the laughter in the voice. He responded in kind, "Resistance is futile."

"And the child?"

"The child will be the pawn to hold the mother in check. We will make her the focus of attention for the people. It might make things difficult for us later, but it will serve our purpose in the beginning. The people of Earth will take her to their heart in light of the discovery of the murderous Borg saboteur.

"You have this completely thought out, don’t you?"

"If I am going to be successful, I have to think out every detail. I cannot afford to leave any detail left unattended."

"Are you certain no one suspects anything?"

He gave his guest a smile, "What is there to suspect? Nothing unusual has happened. By the time anyone suspects anything, it will be too late."

"What message should I send?"

"Confirm our estimated time of arrival. And tell them that our initial plan is in effect. There will be no further communications unless we run into a problem." His guest started to leave when he called to him, "And tell them that all is going according to expectations. Also tell them to be certain to take care of their responsibilities. I don’t want any unnecessary surprises."

He turned back to the window, not even acknowledging when his guest left the room. No, he did not want any unnecessary surprises.

Janeway raised her hands to her head in disgust. She had actually been getting a good night’s sleep. And, then this.

"The bridge to Captain Janeway."

"Yes, Tuvok."

"Captain, I am sorry to bother you, but you have an incoming call from Kahkar Omarahn."

She sat up straight in the bed, her frustration at being woken up immediately gone. Kahkar would not contact her if it weren’t important. "Put it through."

"This is Kathryn Janeway."

"Kathryn, I am sorry to bother you."

She was sliding off her bed as she spoke, moving toward the screen on her wall. She activated it, and Kahkar’s face came into view. She saw his concern immediately. "What’s wrong, Kahkar?"

"Kathryn, it seems…" he hesitated, then drew a quick breath, "it seems Supala is not on board. We suspect she might be on Voyager."

"What?"

He opened his mouth to reply when Ketaria gently pushed into the picture, "Kathryn, we cannot find Supala, and we suspect she had hidden away on Voyager."

"Why would she do that?"

"Would it be possible to find out if she is on board first? We are very worried about her."

"Of course." She raised her head, "Janeway to Tuvok."

"Yes, Captain."

"Scan Voyager for non-crewmembers."

It was silent for a moment, then Tuvok’s voice came back to her, "There are no unaccounted lifesigns on the ship."

Janeway glanced back to the screen, "She does not appear to be on Voyager. Do you have any other idea of where she might be?"

"Kathryn," she saw that he had keyed in a command on his console, "I have sent a special file to you. Implement the program in the file and run the scans again."

"Tuvok."

"Yes."

"Kahkar has sent a file. Do you have it?"

"Yes, Captain."

"Implement the program in the file and rerun the scans."

She waited for him to respond for another minute. When he did, his voice was slightly surprised, "I have identified Supala in the Jeffries tube off of engineering."

"Thank you, Tuvok. Will you please go get her and take her to my ready room? I will be there waiting for you."

"Yes, Captain."

She looked up at the worried faces in the screen, "She is on the ship."

"Oh, thank goodness," Ketaria pressed her hand to her chest in relief.

"Kathryn" Kahkar’s face was mottled red with anger, "will you make it possible for me to have a…talk with her?"

"Of course," Janeway was already starting to feel sorry for the young woman, "do you know why she would do such a thing?"

Ketaria gave her a sheepish smile, "Kathryn, it seems that Supala has developed a…crush on one of your crew. I suspect her actions had something to do with that."

"Who?"

"Harry Kim."

"Harry?"

Ketaria nodded.

Janeway laughed, "Poor thing. Well, I will go meet her in my ready room. I am transferring your signal there."

"Thank you, Kathryn."

"I will talk to you in a few minutes."

She entered the command on the computer and, throwing on her robe, left for her ready room.

She did not think she had ever felt so sorry for anyone. Supala was standing with her head bowed, her short, red hair shooting out in all directions. Her clothes were wrinkled and dirty, and her face was a picture of remorse and fear. Right now, she was getting a dressing down from Kahkar. Janeway saw a tear roll down her cheek.

Finally, she stepped forward, placing her hand on the young woman’s shoulder. "Kahkar, I think Supala is really sorry for her impetuous act. Now, we need to talk about what we do." Janeway looked at the pitiful face, feeling more and more sorry for her.

Kahkar exhaled loudly, "Kathryn, I am afraid doing something presents us with a problem."

She looked at him, frowning slightly, "Is everything all right?"

"Everything is fine, Kathryn. It is just that we have take advantage of this time to implement maintenance and repairs. Both our transwarp coil and our warp drive are off-line. We will not have them operational for four days." His eyes moved to Supala angrily, "Maybe longer since we are short a crew member."

She thought Supala was going to cry at his words. It was obvious that she was aware of how much she had disappointed him. Janeway took a moment to consider their options, "Kahkar, I am afraid we cannot bring her back to you right now. We are meeting family in a matter of days. I don’t think the crew would take well to turning around right now. Plus, I don’t think the decision would even be mine to make at this point. Why don’t you allow Supala to travel to Earth with us? I will be responsible for her. She will be well cared for until you arrive."

She watched as his face worked through her suggestion. Slowly, he nodded his head, "It seems, Kathryn, as if my options are limited. I will accept your offer of hospitality for Supala. Please accept my deep apologies for this…incident." His eyes traveled back to the forlorn young woman, "Supala, I hope you realize what you have done." His voice was full of disappointment and anger. 

Supala did not miss it. She hung her head even lower, nodding as she did. When she spoke, her voice was a whisper, "Yes, sir. I am sorry, sir."

"I think you should also apologize to Captain Janeway."

She did not ever look up at the Captain as she spoke, "I am sorry, Captain. I…I don’t know what I was thinking."

"You were not thinking." Kahkar’s voice was harsh, and Janeway saw that Supala jerked at it. She reached out her arm, draping it over the limp shoulders.

"Kahkar, Ketaria, Supala will be fine. I promise you. And, I will make certain she earns her keep. She will be kept busy."

"Thank you, Kathryn." Ketaria’s face was both sad and relieved.

"I thank you also," Kahkar’s expression was somewhat more calm, but still angry. "Supala, you listen to Captain Janeway. And, please, please try to behave yourself."

"Yes, sir." It was a mumbled reply.

"Goodbye, Kahkar, Ketaria. Janeway out."

The screen went blank, and Janeway kept her arm around Supala’s shoulders, patting her shoulder. "Are you hungry?"

"No, ma’am." Supala’s head was still lowered.

"Okay. Then let’s find you a sonic shower and a warm bed. You look like you could use both."

"Yes, ma’am."

Whipped puppy, thought Kathryn Janeway. She reminded her so much of a whipped puppy. Without saying anything else, she pulled the chastised young woman with her toward the door of her ready room.

Ketaria wrapped her arms around her husband’s neck.

"She will be all right, Kahkar."

"So many people to worry about on that ship." He looked into her face, giving her a grimacing smile, "They will be on Earth in only a few days."

"I know."

"It is going to be a long few days."

She nodded, and he sat holding her in his arms. Then, he kissed her forehead and moved to stand.

"I must talk to the rest of the crew. We have much to do over the next few days ourselves."

"I will go with you."

She took his hand and looked up at him. He smiled down at her, "For two people who never had children of their own, the God of Science and Truth has chosen to bless us with a special and unique family, has he not?"

"Yes, he has," she laughed, squeezing his hand, "and we will honor Him by loving and caring for the gifts he has given us."

Her eyes opened, and she stepped out of the alcove. Looking back at it, she sighed in relief. It had been an uneventful regeneration cycle. She had been afraid the queen would pay her another visit. Thankfully, that had not happened. Maybe she was finally out of the reach of the Borg. 

Checking the time, she realized the Doctor would already have taken Kathryn B’Elanna to B’Elanna’s. He had an early appointment in sickbay so Tom had agreed to feed Kathryn B’Elanna breakfast. She wanted to go there first, but knew she did not have time before her scheduled meeting with Alta Ro’bara. Shaking her head, she left for her home.

She had barely finished changing clothes before the computer announced his arrival. She ordered the computer to allow him to enter, "Good morning, Mr. Ro’bara."

"Good morning, Seven," his voice fairly rang out as he walked in, carrying bags in his hands. "My, my, you are looking wonderful today."

She lifted her head, "I regenerated in my alcove last night."

"Your alcove?"

"Yes, my Borg alcove."

"Oh." He gave her a curious look, before his face brightened, "Maybe we could get a picture of you…regenerating in your alcove."

"Maybe. We will see."

"Wonderful!" He looked around, "Where is Kathryn B’Elanna?" He held up a bag, "I have a dress for her." He pulled out a frilly dress, his face falling when he saw Seven’s reaction to it. "Okay, maybe that won’t be a good choice." He stuffed the dress back in the bag, "Anyway, where is she?"

"She is with B’Elanna."

"Oh." He was obviously disappointed.

"Maybe we will go see her later."

"Could we? That would be great." He started putting items on the table, "I was hoping you would let me read her a Flotter story this afternoon." He gave her a sheepish grin, "I rather enjoyed the experience last night."

She shrugged, "It would be acceptable."

"Good." He turned his attention to the items on the table.

She walked up, watching him curiously, "What are those things?"

"These?" He looked up at her innocently. Picking up one of the items, he grinned at her, "Make-up."

"Make up?"

"Make-up." He gave her a surprised look, "You don’t know make-up?" He walked closer to her, looking at her face intently, "Do you mean that is a natural look?" He examined her face closely, "Oh, my. It is a natural look!"

She backed up, slightly uncomfortable at how close he was, "No, I do not know make up."

"Well," he drew himself back, "just wait until you see what I can do with you using this!" He waved the item in front of her. "Please, sit down here." He pulled a chair out. When she did not sit down immediately, he softened his voice, "It will be okay, Seven. I promise not to hurt you."

Reluctantly, she sat down. He stood in front of her and studied her face intently. "I am going to touch your face a little. Will that be acceptable to you?"

She glanced down at the items on the table and nodded slowly. He reached down to take her chin in his hand, lifting her head toward him, "If this is how you look naturally, just wait until you see how you look with make-up!"

B’Elanna and Kathryn B’Elanna were gradually waking up from a long morning nap. 

"KB," she looked at the sleepy child next to her, "we are going to have to get a full night’s sleep soon. This all night mama-sitting is getting the best of me." The child yawned widely, then rolled toward B’Elanna, putting her hand on the protruding stomach, "Hi, baby."

B’Elanna laughed, "Why do I get the feeling you are really talking to this baby of mine?" She pulled the child up to her, giving her a big hug. They had just separated when she heard the door opened, and Seven walked in and sat down.

"Good morning, Seven." B’Elanna was brushing KB’s hair back from her face, then raised her head to her friend. "How are you doing….." She stopped and stared.

Kathryn B’Elanna rolled toward her mother, sitting up as she did, "Mama. Ma…." Her eyes locked on her mother’s face.

Seven looked from one face to the other, her face tightening as she did, "That is what I thought." She got up and went into the bathroom.

B’Elanna heard the water running. She lifted her hand to her mouth, trying not to laugh at the expression on KB’s face. KB looked as if she had eaten something that tasted bad.

"Mama?"

"Yes, sweetheart, I am afraid that was your mother." B’Elanna thought she would choke on her laughter. When Seven finally came out of the bathroom, still wiping at her face with a cloth, B’Elanna said, "I take it you met with Mr. Ro’bara this morning."

"Yes."

"And that was the result of his handiwork."

"Yes."

"I think he’d better stay with public relations work. Beauty Consultant does not appear to be one of his talents."

Seven sighed, "He is an interesting person."

"I’ll look forward to meeting him."

"You should plan to avoid that pleasure as long as possible."

B’Elanna started laughing, "I’ll admit, Seven, it was a very different look for you."

Seven cut her eyes at her, a smile starting to appear at the corners of her mouth, "I do not think make up is something I would ever get used to. It is inefficient."

"Well, maybe. You are lucky. You don’t really need it. But, you might find it useful at some point." She gave her a meaningful look, "But, definitely, that was not your look."

Seven reached for her daughter, "I missed you this morning, Kathryn B’Elanna." She hugged her child tightly. "You look sleepy."

B’Elanna spoke quickly, "I am afraid I had a rather sleepless night so I have been napping a lot this morning. She has napped with me."

"Are you all right?"

"Yes. He was just active last night." She was uncomfortable not being truthful with Seven, but they had all agreed it was necessary. "I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me." She allowed her eyes to rest on KB, "We have family coming to meet us soon."

"Yes."

"Do you know if you have any family coming?"

"No, I do not."

"Are you looking forward to meeting your family?"

"I do not know."

"It will be interesting."

"Yes, it will be." Seven thought a moment, "Will you have family coming?"

"I don’t know, either," wondering to herself if her mother was still alive or not, "I guess we will find out when they get here."

"Yes." She glanced away, then turned to ask B’Elanna a question. It died on her lips as soon as she saw her friend’s face, "B’Elanna?"

Her eyes were closed, a look of intense pain on her face, "Seven." It was a gasp, "I think you’d better call the Doctor."

Neelix placed the plate down in front of them. Tom looked at it warily, "Looks interesting, Neelix. What is it?"

"A new recipe," the Talaxian was smiling secretively, "I thought you and Ensign Kim would like to be the first to try it."

Tom and Harry exchanged nervous glances, "Go ahead, Harry. I’ll give you the honor."

Before Harry could demur, Neelix picked up the plate and offered it to Harry. Giving Tom a threatening glance, he picked up on of the pieces of food on the plate and sniffed it cautiously. "Smells good." He puckered up his face and gingerly nibbled. Slowly, his frown smoothed out and he looked at Tom with surprised eyes, "It’s good." He popped the entire piece in his mouth and reached for another piece, "It’s really good! Neelix, this is wonderful!"

Tom reached for a piece, carefully putting it in his mouth. He did not put it past the two men to trick him into eating something awful. As soon as he bit down, his eyes widened, "You’re right." He looked at Neelix in amazement, "This is one of the best things I have ever eaten. What is it?"

Neelix beamed, "It is a new recipe. By a new cook on Voyager."

Harry was reaching for another piece, "What?"

Neelix used his eyes to motion to his galley, and Harry and Tom looked up in time to see Supala disappear into the pantry. As Harry’s face registered shock, Tom asked, "Was that Supala?"

Neelix nodded and whispered to them secretively, "She stowed away. Kahkar called the Captain last night, and Tuvok found her hiding in a Jeffries tube. She’ll be traveling with us to Earth, and Kahkar will get her later. From what I understand, Kahkar is very unhappy with her."

"I imagine he would be." Tom was giving Harry a sly smile.

"Captain Janeway has assigned her to the mess hall. She’ll be helping me for the rest of the trip." He beamed at them, "So, you gentlemen can expect more delicious treats over the next few days." He picked up the plate, "If you gentlemen will excuse me, I will continue to pass these around."

He left, and Tom grinned at Harry, "So, isn’t that something?"

Harry rolled his eyes at Tom and glanced over to see Supala peeking out at him from the pantry. He quickly looked the other direction, "Oh, yes. It is something."

"It should give you an opportunity to get to know her better."

Harry just glared at him.

"Come on, Harry. She is really a nice person."

"She’s a kid."

"She’s young, but she’s not such a kid." When Harry didn’t respond, he continued, "Give her a chance, Harry. Supala’s nice. If you aren’t interested in her in any other way, at least give yourself a chance to get to know her as a person."

Harry threw him a disgusted look, "If she is going to be working here, I’d better replicate myself some plastic uniforms."

Tom was laughing at him when the call came.

"Seven of Nine to Lieutenant Paris."

Still laughing, he reached up to tap his combadge, "Go ahead, Seven."

"Tom, B’Elanna is in sickbay." They froze as Seven continued to talk, "You should come immediately."

Tom shot out of his chair, almost knocking down people as he ran for the door. Harry was right behind him.