# Chapter 2 – A Ghost from the Past

Seven of Nine waited outside the door to Chakotay's quarters. The crew of the Phoenix had adopted the standard twenty-four hour day of Earth as ship's time. This happened to be similar to the length of New Earth's day, which was a little under twenty-five hours, and so adjusting to the new day length posed little difficulty. Chakotay's routine was to wake up and prepare and eat breakfast at 0700 and start his shift on the bridge at 0800. For the past several mornings, he arrived at Seven's quarters at about 0720 leaving only forty minutes for them to be together before his shift began. They had more time together in the evening, from 2000 to the time he needed to start regenerating at about 2300. She only required four hours of regenerating each day, and since she was in charge of engineering, had made sure her time off and regeneration schedule coincided with his. She checked her internal chronometer. It was now 0655. She engaged the chime on Chakotay's door.

The door slid open and Seven entered Chakotay's room. A dim light automatically lit and she could see Chakotay leaning up on his elbows on his sleeping mattress, still half asleep.

"It is just me," Seven remarked. "You still have five minutes to complete your regeneration cycle. I thought I would come to prepare your morning nutritional supplement at this time to maximize our time together." Seven moved over to the replicator near the Borg alcoves and began to enter in commands. She sensed Chakotay had not laid back down and turned to face him again. "I will have your breakfast prepared and ready for you to ingest when you awaken at 0700. We can then converse while you eat. Please, complete your regeneration cycle."

Chakotay smiled and swung his legs over the side of his bed and sat up. "No, I'm awake."

Seven of Nine looked distressed. "I did not intend for you to terminate your cycle prematurely. I simply desired to spend more time with you in the morning, and thought if I prepared your meal beforehand, we could have those extra minutes together. There is no replicator in my quarters, or I would have prepared it there."

Chakotay stood now and stretched, and then returned his attention to Seven. "I tell you what, I will spend that time getting changed into my uniform, and then we'll have even more time together since I won't have to do it after breakfast."

Seven nodded satisfactorily. "An excellent suggestion; you may proceed." She turned back to the replicator and continued entering in commands. She first accessed the replicator's log to see what he had prepared the previous few days that the Phoenix had been in space, and consulted the options contained in the replicator to prepare a similar supplement. The options were the full list of programmed possibilities that had been downloaded from the Federation shuttlecraft. Chakotay had retreated into the lavatory to change.

When he emerged, he was in uniform and Seven had the small table prepared for him. He sat and then motioned for Seven to sit as well. She had discovered Chakotay preferred it this way, for her to sit when he was sitting, so she pulled up the other chair and sat across from him.

"What's this?" Chakotay inquired.

"Juice made from the liquid and pulp from the inside of a citrus fruit and a piece of wheat bread with a hole cut out and fried with the egg of the Earth species gallus domesticus in the center," Seven replied.

"Orange juice and some sort of eggs," Chakotay corrected. He cut off a corner and took a bite, nodding his head approvingly. "Very good. You'll have to help me select other meals on future mornings."

"I will. I believe the 'some sort of eggs' is called a Toad in the Hole, according to the database, although the latter appellation apparently also refers to other regional Earth dishes as well."

"A Toad in the Hole?" Chakotay remarked and laughed. "I think I've lost my appetite." Seven looked alarmed, but Chakotay shook his head and smiled, "I'm only joking Seven."

Seven shifted uneasily. Chakotay's jokes often eluded her.

"Any new sensor readings during the night?" Chakotay asked as he took a sip from his juice.

"I have not yet talked to Minnik this morning," Seven replied, "but I suspect there is nothing new to report for she would have alerted me. We continue to follow the warp trail we discovered after leaving the vicinity of New Earth. It has a definite Federation signature. There is a system ahead and within a light year of our current position that appears was the destination of the ship we are following, and we should be within that system by late today."

"Any new information on how old the signature is?"

"No. As I've informed the Captain, it is hard to say how old it might be. In some regions of space, warp signals can persist for years, even decades. It appears that this region of space displays just those conditions. If that is the case, then Captain Janeway's hunch that it is Voyager's signature might prove to be correct."

"If it is, I think she's interested in following that trail for as long as possible," Chakotay remarked. "Hoping to perhaps see what the Voyager crew saw seven years ago when they passed through."

"It is likely the conditions that preserve these warp signatures will not extend for too much longer," Seven commented.

Chakotay continued to eat, and Seven decided it was time to broach a subject that had been occupying her mind of late. She placed her hands on the table between them, but then upon seeing the flat gray-black Borg armor that covered most of her skin, she removed her hands and placed them in her lap. Her appearance had always been irrelevant to her, but now when she caught sight of her reflection, she couldn't help but notice she did not appear… human. Before, she never noticed the ocular implant that covered much of the left side of her face. The improved vision the device provided allowed her to conduct intricate work as well at see at great distances. She had never been conscious before of how she looked, but as she spent more time with Chakotay, her appearance to him took on a more significant meaning.

"Is there something wrong?" Chakotay asked studying Seven's expression, his fork paused midway between his plate and mouth.

Seven considered his question. "Yes, I believe so," she finally responded. How to express what she wanted to say? She had been an individual for five years, and yet lacked experience in conversing with others. It was a simple enough question, so she might as well come right to it. "I do enjoy your company, and by all appearances, you enjoy mine."

"Yes I do."

"Why?"

"Is it not enough that I do?"

"I must understand why," Seven persisted. "I have been surprised by my attraction to you. At first I thought it was because you are human, and I was once human, and I desired more information than the Borg data nodes contained. Seeing that I do not have any comparable emotional attachment to Captain Janeway, however, I've dismissed this reasoning. I can not explain the need I now feel to be close to you, and yet I also can not ignore it."

"Seven," Chakotay said, placing his fork on his plate. "You weren't once human, you are human."

"Forty-two percent of my mass is made of Borg technology," Seven protested. "Vital biological systems, such as digestion and reproduction have been rendered dormant. Other parts of my human anatomy have been removed, such as my left eye and optic nerve. These are gone forever."

"Perhaps, but not all your humanity has been rendered dormant. You have a mind, and you have human feelings and emotions."

"I have considered this. My attraction must have a biological origin. At some level, because our species has two sexes, and we are of the opposite sex, I suspect my body is responding to a sexual attraction. While this might explain my emotions, in the current circumstances, I can not believe it is reciprocated and explains yours."

"There is much more to it than that Seven, and you also underestimate yourself."

"I find that hard to believe. I am Borg. Given the history of contact between the Borg and humanity, you must view me physically with disgust."

"Well you are wrong on both counts. For one, as I said before, you are not Borg. You do not think as the Hive Mind, you think as an individual. Our discussions have ranged from the mundane to the sublime; philosophy and history and psychology. You may be stuck with Borg technology throughout your body and encased in a Borg exoskeleton, but you are every bit human. And second, I don't look on you with disgust. During these past few weeks, I feel I've gotten to know you. When I look at you, I don't see the technology, the Borg to be feared and shunned; I see what's inside, the woman who I want to get to know better."

Seven let this sink in and Chakotay picked back up his fork and continued his meal. She had started to have discussions with others on the crew, and yet none held the same meaning as when she spoke with Chakotay. For five years she had studied the Borg data nodes, learning all she could about what it was to be human, but never shared any of it with her companions, until now. Finally she said, "In the current circumstances, we can't possibly act on our physical impulses."

"But perhaps we are, by simply wishing to be in each other's presence," Chakotay retorted. He thought of something Captain Janeway had said to him a few days before and added, "and it might not always be this way. Do the Borg data nodes contain information on how Borg components might be removed from a drone?"

"Yes. Borg components are removed and replaced all the time."

"Why during these past five years did none of you remove any of your Borg components?"

Seven hesitated. "I can not speak for the others," she finally said. "For me, there seemed little point. The regeneration alcoves in the damaged cube were still operational and would thus tend to my physical needs indefinitely. The most efficient course of action seemed to be to remain as I was and help devise a means of escape from the planet's surface. I believe we would have eventually succeeded in constructing a warp core of our own if you hadn't come along."

"Are you unhappy then that Captain Janeway and I showed up and just gave you a warp core?"

"Of course not, that is not what I meant," Seven shot back and then looked at Chakotay more intently. He may feel he's gotten to know her better, but the reverse was also true. His face held back a smile, but she could see by some wrinkles about his eyes that he thought her reaction humorous and had hoped for such. "I am glad to see I reacted just as you hoped. I am not used to subterfuge, and so you must know that I of course am pleased by your presence and would not want it any other way." She thought for a moment, and then added, "I believe my initial assessment was flawed. I can think of reasons I would like to have the Borg armor and components removed and indeed, I would like the current circumstances to be altered."

"Perhaps we can start looking into that," Chakotay replied. "It might be something the others would be interested in as well."

Seven nodded. "I will access the Borg data nodes during my free time while you are regenerating. Perhaps I will have something to report tomorrow morning."

"That's a great idea." Chakotay had finished eating and stood up. "I thought we'd go for a walk before my shift begins and you could show me the shield grid along the periphery. As tactical officer, it seems to me I should have some working knowledge of critical systems."

Seven stood as well. "Of course; I'd be happy to comply." They both stepped out into the corridor and Chakotay followed Seven in the direction towards the cargo bay.

"Have you given some thought to the question I asked you yesterday?" Chakotay asked.

"I have, from the category of the mundane no doubt. After reviewing all electromagnetic wavelengths between three hundred and seven hundred nanometers at five nanometer increments and five, ten, twenty, and fifty nanometer widths, as well as the same in absorption, I would say the one that elicited the greatest emotional response is four hundred and thirty seven in emission with a twenty nanometer width."

Chakotay thought for a moment. "So, your favorite would thus be blue?"

"That is what I just said," Seven replied, with a twinkle in her eye. "Although, I would characterize it more as a royal blue."

#

Seven of Nine exited the lift into the lowest level of the Phoenix which they now referred to as engineering. Minnik was working at one of the pillars, overseeing a diagnostics of the propulsion system, and turned to acknowledge her entrance. The two would work together for two hours until Minnik's shift ended. Seven was several minutes late to her own duty shift and felt the need to explain her tardiness. "I apologize for arriving late. I was conducting some research with the Borg data nodes."

"No doubt with Chakotay," Minnik replied, with what Seven detected as a note of sarcasm. Seven had discovered that Minnik freely shared her opinion, whether asked for or not. In general, however, she was quite satisfied with the work produced by the other member of the 'engineering team', as Captain Janeway referred to the two of them, and even enjoyed her company when the two of them worked together.

"In fact, I was not with Chakotay. I was alone and investigating the procedures for removing Borg armor and components. I only intended to stay for a few minutes, but lost track of the time."

"Removing Borg components?" Minnik asked, stopping her work at the pillar. "Is that possible?"

"Yes, I believe so. With the proper medical supervision, it should be possible to remove most of the Borg armor and many of the components and implants," Seven replied.

Minnik backed up from her workstation and faced Seven. "Do you believe your Chakotay has this medical knowledge?"

Seven paused from initiating a terminal link with a nearby pillar. "He is not my Chakotay," she responded, sounding a bit flustered. "He is simply Chakotay. And no, I do not think he currently possesses the level of knowledge necessary. In fact, I do not believe any of us have sufficient knowledge to conduct the operation successfully."

Minnik returned to her workstation, but clearly was distracted from her work. "An intriguing thought," she finally said. "I wonder if we could remove all of our implants."

Since Seven had already expressed her belief that she thought they could remove much of the Borg technology, she decided Minnik's query was simply a rhetorical question. She completed her link to the workstation and checked the propulsion system's status. Everything was operating within normal parameters, so she turned to Minnik and asked "how is the propulsion systems diagnostics going?"

"It is almost complete. No anomalies have been detected. For now, the warp drive can be operated indefinitely if we maintain this speed," Minnik said. She continued to work on something, but then added, "I was once in love with a maje in the Ogla sect of the Kazon, and he was in love with me."

Seven again stopped her work, trying to deduce why Minnik would make such a statement that at first seemed a non sequitur. "Are you implying I'm in love with Chakotay?" she finally asked.

Minnik laughed. It was an odd sound, made all the more curious coming from an ex-Borg drone. Minnik did not have an ocular implant as Seven did, and so her head, although hairless and discolored as true for all drones, was relatively free of Borg technology. Her right forearm, however, had been replaced by a mechanism used for managing distribution nodes on Borg vessels, and of course she was covered with the same armor. Seven realized she had never heard Minnik laugh before. "Are you implying you're not?" Minnik said.

Seven hardly knew. She had no experience to draw from. Was the feeling of love nothing more than emotions that resulted when particular chemicals were produced in higher amounts in the brain? How was it possible for her to feel this love if many of her brain functions were regulated by Borg implants? In comparison to how she felt about the other male members of Phoenix's crew, she most definitely felt differently about Chakotay. Something else that Minnik had implied was demanding her attention. "Do you believe Chakotay is in love with me?"

Minnik smiled, and returned to her station. "I do," she eventually replied.

This alarmed Seven. She would have to be more attentive, but how could Chakotay possibly love her? Their conversation from the morning echoed in her mind. Was it possible?

"Come here," Minnik said. "I have something I would like for you to see. I've been experimenting with the long-range sensors, to try and detect what might be in the system we are heading towards. I took your idea of using a triaxilating poleron pulse in subspace, but averaged together multiple pulses in a phased array to increase the resolution caused by the extended baseline of our approach."

"An intriguing idea," Seven responded. She approached Minnik's workstation. Although it had never been stated outright, Minnik had taken on the role as Seven's subordinate. Seven had been teaching her what she knew of the sphere's propulsion systems and sensors. For her part, Minnik had been an eager and capable student. "What have you found?"

"As you know, we have detected ten planets in the system. I examined the space around each planet and have now also detected what appears to be a ship in low orbit about the fourth planet."

Seven moved over to Minnik's side and examined her data. She was impressed at the ingenuity of the approach. "Have you reconstructed an image?"

"I have. The resolution in one dimension is much better than the other, determined by our approach vector and the orientation of the system. All we can get is a profile for now." Minnik entered some commands and pulled up an image on the workstation's screen.

Seven's human eye widened. She immediately tapped the comm system connected to the workstation. "Engineering to bridge."

"Go ahead," Captain Janeway's responded.

"We have something important to show you Captain."

#

The eight crew members of the Phoenix were all on the bridge, even those not officially on duty. They had been traveling at maximum warp now for two hours, and the system's fourth planet lay ahead. They had been pushing the engines to their limit, and Seven was relieved that they would soon be able to drop from warp for a time after obtaining orbit. She examined the sensor output again.

"The target should be exiting the terminator now Captain," Seven remarked.

"On screen," Captain Janeway responded. There wasn't a single main view screen, as on most Federation star ships, but Seven understood that the Captain wished to see the orbiting spacecraft that Minnik had discovered earlier on her own monitor. She entered the appropriate commands and had the image of the long-range imaging sensors displayed on all of the workstation monitors. Someone gasped when the image was revealed, and Seven realized it was Captain Janeway herself.

The identification of the vessel was unmistakable. It was Voyager. It slowly rotated end over end, obviously in an unstable attitude configuration, and the port nacelle dangled off to the side at an odd angle. The energy output was non existent.

Voyager was dead in space.