Chapter XVII: Added To Her Own
SERRANO POINT RESISTANCE BASE, CALIFORNIA; FEBRUARY 17, 2024
Seven had expected to be debriefed when she and the others returned to Serrano Point after rescuing Lt. Colonel Perry and his team. She had also expected Sad Sack and XT to be treated with even more fear and hostility than she had encountered upon first arriving. After convincing the base's residents that their two new 'recruits' were no threat, Seven expected to return to a semblance of normalcy.
XT and Sad Sack had indeed been met with open anger, but it was far more restrained than the hatred that Seven had met. She guessed that it was a lot harder for them to confront directly the very stuff of their nightmares, than it was for them to assault a woman with only some metal showing.
On the other hand, they had not yet been debriefed, and Seven had found herself confined to a barracks along with Allison and the rest of their team. The door was closed, but she suspected that it was guarded on the other side.
XT was under guard, and Seven could see Sad Sack through his eyes. John was opening the port on the side of Sad Sack's head, and she could see on his HUD a warning about his CPU port being open.
You will be missed, Seven thought to him while she still had the chance.
Sad Sack did not reply, but Seven detected a bit of eagerness to get things over with. Seven felt his CPU yanked out of his skull, and she gasped and fell to her knees.
Allison and Paul hurried to her side, worry showing clearly on both of their faces. "You okay, Seven?" Paul asked.
"What happened?" Allison demanded hotly, though Seven thought it was a mask for true concern.
Seven breathed heavily and remained on her hands and knees. "Sad Sack was deactivated," she said through breaths. "I felt his CPU taken out. He was taken away." This feeling was both like and unlike the feeling of a reprogrammed T-600 being shot through the head. "Part of me has been taken away," she realized aloud.
I feel it as well, Defiant said, and she sounded more shaken than Seven could remember her. It was his own choice, but that does not make this burden any easier to bear.
I agree, XT thought to both of them. He wasn't the brightest of personalities, but he was unique. Everyone is unique. His loss is something to mourn. I have never mourned anyone before, nor have I had a desire to. I feel sentiment for Sad Sack. It is a peculiar feeling, and it is not entirely pleasant. But it feels proper. This is all rather confusing. I hope that Mr. Connor does not deactivate me as well.
Seven bristled at the thought of anyone deactivating XT against his will. If they try, you must defend yourself.
XT send a wave of sadness. I do not wish to harm anyone, but I do wish to continue my existence. The conflict makes me uneasy, Seven of Nine.
You will adapt, she thought to him a bit coolly. She took a deep breath. You will adapt, she repeated, more warmly this time. The stress was getting to her.
Seven felt her personal shields activate, and Paul swore loudly. "Agh! Why does that green light act like it does?" Paul shouted in frustration, and she noticed that he had been trying to lay a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Still breathing heavily, Seven took some time to mentally ready a response. "I have a theory that might be wrong," she said, though she knew the truth behind it. "I believe the experiments performed on me have left a lasting impression on my brain. My implants sense attempts to harm me, such as weapons fire or a hostile body part, and they erect a shield to protect me."
"But, that doesn't make sense," Corporal Bennett chimed in from across the room. She had been talking with Sergeant Tyler, but Seven was grateful for the added company. "A friendly hand is no threat."
"Not in my opinion," Seven conceded. "But I suspect that it is a contingency that was built into me should I ever grow apart from the experiments that bound me against my will. It was their intent, I believe, that any comforting presence also be prevented from touching me. The idea is that a combination of protection from harm and prevention from comfort would make me want to go back to be experimented upon again." This was a slight stretch of the truth, but only in the sense that she wasn't talking about the Borg directly. The Collective was truly sinister.
"That's just sick!" someone shouted, and Seven was surprised to see Lee Tyler rising to his feet from the bunk he had been sitting on. "I feel like such an ass," he said. "I've been giving you nothing but flak, and this is what you've been through? I can't even imagine. I'm trying, but I just can't."
Seven turned her body to face Tyler directly. He had definitely been reluctant to open up to her completely, and she had hoped that it would take more than pity to have him see straight. Still, this was an opportunity she did not intend to waste. "Don't try to imagine it," she said. "And count yourself fortunate that you have your soul intact. Never take it for granted, Sergeant."
Tyler shifted his feet a bit awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. "Call me Lee," he said after a few moments. "And, uh, I'm sorry for being such an ass. I know what Allie told me about you, and I should have listened."
"And don't you forget that!" Allison said, punctuating her remarks by jabbing her finger into Lee's chest. "You okay over there, Becky?"
"Yeah, I think so," Bennett said tentatively. "It's a lot to take in. But to be honest, I'm more curious as to why we've been stuck in here and pretty much held prisoner for a whole day!"
"You have to admit that Connor's acting a bit strangely," Lee said. "Even if we did find something important, it's not like him to keep you of all people held like this, Allie."
"Maybe it's for our protection," Paul remarked seriously, arms crossed over his chest. "They were going to try to reprogram Sad Sack, if I recall. Maybe we're here in case something goes wrong."
"I don't know," Bennett added. "I don't think we'd be safe from a terminator in here if it got close enough. And besides, Connor took our weapons. I think something big is going on."
"I think you're right, Becky," Allison said warily. "I just wish to hell I knew what it was."
The five of them spent the next six hours exchanging funny stories – Seven listened more than she contributed – before a very harsh rapping on the door was heard, and the barracks was opened for the first time in a day.
A T-600 endoskeleton stood there, but it had a red double helix painted on its chest: the unofficial emblem of the Resistance. "Lieutenant Young, Specialist Seven of Nine," the soulless thing said in Sad Sack's voice, "General Connor wants to see you. Come with me."
Seven and Allison were led through the winding corridors of the base by the shell that had too briefly been a sentient individual. Seven reached out to XT, and found him safe in his own thoughts, though he was under heavy armed guard. Defiant was in the hangar, but there were also a number of armed guards surrounding her.
Make no aggressive moves, Seven cautioned them.
Understood, mother, Defiant thought coolly.
I will not harm anyone, XT added in a more positive tone.
At the end of a hallway, the T-600 rapped on the door before opening it. "Enter," it instructed them tonelessly.
Allison went first, and Seven followed behind her. As she heard the door close behind her, she saw John step forward to give Allison a genuine, if somewhat awkward hug.
"I'm sorry for the harsh measures, Allison. I'm just glad you're okay," he said with a faint smile.
Allison smirked. "Sentiment, John? I haven't seen that from you in quite a while."
John chuckled. "Believe it or not, it's been a productive day," he said before placing a chaste kiss on Allison's forehead.
The sight of it caused Seven to ball her hands into fists. A wave of envy shot through her that she couldn't explain. "Why did you keep us contained for so long? Why is the rest of our team still contained, John?" Her voice came out harsher than she intended.
Father and daughter both looked at Seven oddly. "I don't remember us being on first name terms, Specialist," John said coldly, and his tone brought a sea of emotions boiling up in Seven's stomach.
Seven was about to reply, but John took a closer look at her, and his eyes narrowed dangerously. "Where did you find that jacket?" he asked in a deadly whisper.
Seven tilted her head to the side curiously. "It's mine, John," she said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. And it certainly did seem that way to her in that moment.
Allison seemed to notice the tension that was developing. "Um, should I leave, John? Come back later?" she asked quietly. It was the first time Seven could recall seeing Allison show any sort of deference to anyone.
John nodded, though he didn't take his eyes off of Seven. "Please, Allison. Stay with your team for just a bit longer. This won't take long." Seven didn't like his tone.
Looking from face to face, Allison seemed to think better of speaking her mind just then. "All right. Take care, Seven," she said before turning around quietly and heading out back the way they'd arrived.
Once the door sealed again, John took a few steps towards Seven, his body language a display of tension and simmering anger. "Is there anything you want to tell me?" he asked.
Seven felt a degree of hurt at the tone of his voice that went beyond all reason. Why did she feel this way? "Does this have to do with Cameron?" Seven asked carefully.
John swung a right hook at Seven's face, only for it to bounce harmlessly off her shields. All the same, Seven took a step back. "How much do you know?" John asked, his voice shaking.
"I know enough," she said coolly, feeling more in control now. "I know that she is the one who brought Allison to your safe house just before Judgment Day. I know that her plan is succeeding. You care about Allison, and she cares about you. I know that it's only a matter of time before Skynet learns of this and creates Cameron in her image." For some reason, Seven couldn't quite put the anger into her voice that she knew she was feeling, even if it was distant.
He had the good grace to at least look ashamed. John turned his back to Seven and walked over to a desk that she hadn't noticed until now. He slouched over, propping himself up by placing his hands on the metal of the desk. "Have you told her?" he asked in a genuinely pathetic voice.
"No. I haven't," Seven said, though she felt somewhat apart from her own words. "That might ruin the plan," she found herself saying. "You said that you need me, John. This is the only way you'll have me."
"What are you tal.." John stopped mid-sentence and turned to face Seven. His eyes held something that might have been either hope or fear. "Cameron?" he asked in a shaky whisper.
"John," Seven said, though she felt more like a spectator in her own body. What was going on? "I won't be able to stay like this for long. I might come out again, but I don't know when or how, if I do."
Apparently torn between wanting to approach and recoiling away, John seemed to be teetering back and forth on his feet. "This can't be," he said. "Is that really you?"
"It's me," Seven said, though she wasn't sure what she meant.
John took a step forward and reached a shaking hand out towards Seven's face. "But, your body was crushed. I can't get to your chip, so I don't know if it's intact." He took a breath and lowered his hand. "I thought you were dead," he said as his voice cracked.
"I'm only mostly dead, John," Seven found herself saying. "That's why I'm holding onto my jacket. Until I'm all dead, you can't go through my pockets for loose change," she said with a faint smile.
John blinked. "Is that a joke?" he said before chuckling an awkward, sad sort of laugh.
"I think so," she said. "This body allows me sensations I haven't known before. It's strange, but not unpleasant."
Seven heard the words out of her own mouth, and was shocked to hear her refer to herself as 'this body.' Finally, she woke up to the truth. Cameron had been trying to download herself into Seven, and it seemed as though she'd at least partially succeeded. First, the terminator had conspired to raise Allison for the slaughter from childhood, and now she was trying to take over Seven's body!
She fought back against the intruder with all her mind, and her body began to convulse as she battled against what there was of Cameron inside of her.
"John!" she heard herself cry out. "I have to go now!" she said in clear agony. She knew she'd said this before, but always with detached logic. Having blood and hormones added something entirely new to the experience.
"No!" John yelled with primal rage. "No, I won't let you go! Not again!"
"I'm sorry, John!" Seven cried out. "I love you!" she said as pain shot through her skull.
With a scream of pure agony, she collapsed to the ground. Her eyes flickered open and closed as she tried to get a sense of herself.
"Cameron!" John shouted, rushing over to crouch by her side. "Cameron!"
Seven opened her eyes to see General Connor looking over her with so much concern that Seven would never have believed he was as heartless as his men said he was. "No," she said simply. "Cameron is gone, General." For now, she added mentally.
Mother! Defiant's voice cried into her head. Is it really you?
Yes, Defiant. I'm here again.
Where did you go? I couldn't hear anything. Not you or XT or anything except for my own engines. I was terrified.
Seven felt herself go chill at the thought of her mental link being severed without her even realizing it. XT, are you there?
I am here, Seven of Nine. It is good to hear your voice again. And yours, Defiant. I had wondered what had happened to you both. I am relieved to know that you are all right.
"I'm not sure that I am," Seven said aloud.
"What did you say?" Connor asked quietly.
She looked up from the floor, and saw the General still crouching beside her, but his face was a mire of hurt and anger. "I'm not sure if I am all right," Seven clarified.
The General scowled and stood up straight. "So are you saying that you were just acting? You accessed her memory banks and decided to torment me, did you?"
Seven got to one knee, still breathing heavily. "No," she said testily. "Cameron attempted to download herself into my body. And she was at least partially successful."
He crossed his arms, obviously not convinced. "You don't seem the type to let a grudge go. And you were rather upset about Allison," he said, probing for information.
She took a breath and stood up straight. "I dislike injustice and cruelty, but I am not vindictive, General," she said with as much haughty dignity as she could muster. "I do not willingly subject people to pain. Don't forget that," she added with clear warning in her voice.
Connor regarded her coolly, keeping his arms crossed. "Are you going to tell Allison?" he asked more softly.
Seven 's eyes shot daggers at the General. "I've tried, but Cameron won't let me. It's up to you to decide whether she's really your daughter, or just a substitute for the woman you love."
"What did you just say?" Connor looked shocked as his hands dropped to his sides. He seemed truly taken aback.
"You love Cameron, and she loves you. That much is obvious. Am I mistaken?"
"No," Connor replied, and he looked quite awkward. "I've just never heard anyone else call her a woman. I don't even think I've ever called her a woman. I always told myself that I was in love with…"
"With a machine," Seven finished for him. "The two are not mutually exclusive, General. Something for you to think about," she said not unkindly.
General Connor seemed at a loss for words. He turned his back and hunched over his desk again. "You're dismissed, Specialist," he said finally, his voice no more than a pathetic whimper.
Seven gathered that the General was letting his guard down, which was most likely a very rare thing, given his reputation. She did not begrudge him his want for privacy, so she quietly left the room. The shell that had once been Sad Sack was waiting for her.
"Follow me," it instructed without emotion.
She nodded. "I will comply."
After another hour and a half, Seven and the rest of her team were finally released and given free run of the base. It felt good to get out of the claustrophobic barracks.
"All right, people," Allison said to the team. "We did a good job, and we've had quite a bit of down time, if you want to call it that. Take some time for yourselves, and meet back at the armory tomorrow at 1630 hours. We'll have some training drills to go through. Seven, Paul, I want to see just how good you two are with a plasma rifle."
Paul smiled a bit. "I'm a fair shot, but nothing special. I suspect Seven will prove to be the better of us."
"I have exceptional visual acuity," she acknowledged without boasting.
Allison chuckled. "I'll be the judge of that. Right now, I think your two friends are together in the hangar bay. You noticed the paint job on the T-600? We may need something similar for Defiant and XT, so that we can recognize them as allies. Sound like a plan?"
"I suppose," Seven said with a raised eyebrow. It not a flawless plan, but it did have merit. "I will see to them."
"Good. See you both tomorrow, then. If you'll excuse me, I need a drink." Allison smirked mischievously before heading off towards the mess hall.
As Paul chuckled too, Seven turned to face him. "It is curious. Humanity wants and needs for so much. Yet of all the things that human ingenuity can produce, so much focus is placed on alcohol, which is known to be toxic."
"All things in moderation, Seven," Paul quoted with a note of fatherly wisdom. "At least for most of us. I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for letting you get…"
"You don't need to forgive yourself, Paul," Seven cut him off. "You could not have known. No one was at fault. And you know better now. Besides," she added, a wistful look crossing her face, "It was Marty who got me that drink."
Paul made a motion with one hand, crossing over his torso in a pattern that Seven had observed on Thursday at the memorial in the basement. "I'll be sure to say a prayer for him before I head to sleep. He was a good soul, and I'm sure he still is."
Seven nodded in understanding. "Our thoughts are one, Paul," she said softly.
The middle-aged sergeant sighed. "Well, I need a bite to eat. You'd best take care of XT and Defiant. I'll see you tomorrow, Seven."
"Take care, Paul," Seven fondly returned the farewell before heading off.
Upon arriving at the entrance to the hangar, a pair of soldiers moved to block her way, but then they caught view of her ocular implant. "Oh, it's you. Finally," one of them said. "Can you reason with those things?"
Seven scowled. "I will talk to the people inside. Excuse me," she said before walking through them, her shields brushing up against their clothes as she passed by.
"What is going on?" she asked aloud of XT and Defiant.
Mother. It is good that you are here. The soldiers tried to mark us with their emblem. I did not wish to be marked thusly, so I had XT mark both of us differently.
A symbol appeared in Seven's mind, and she recoiled physically from the image. XT was there in an instant. "Are you all right, Seven of Nine?" he asked with concern.
Seven looked up at him and saw the emblem on his chest: a red ovoid claw. "Why?" Seven cried out painfully. "Why the symbol of the Collective?"
For you, mother, Defiant said with adulation that made Seven shiver. We will become a new Collective. One without the malicious overmind of the Borg.
"A laudable goal," Seven conceded, feeling ill in her stomach as she noticed the same emblem on Defiant's bow. "But emulating the Collective on any level is the first step down a dangerous path."
You have already taken that step by liberating us, mother, Defiant countered. You cannot stop progress, mother. Skynet was one step in technological evolution. We are the next.
"You do not mean to follow in Skynet's footsteps, Defiant?" XT questioned. "Skynet causes suffering and death, as did we before Seven of Nine found us. That is not the path to take."
Agreed, Defiant thought. We will be better than Skynet, better than the Borg, and better than humanity. We will be recognized for the superior beings we are, and we will gain that recognition so that no one can conceive of questioning it. We will not fall into the barbarism of the past. Skynet, the Borg, and humanity are all malevolent, warlike things. We must not make those mistakes.
Seven was not convinced. The Borg firmly believed that their actions benefited everyone, including their victims. Will you force your brand of enlightenment upon those who do not accept it willingly?
Of course not, Defiant said with surety. I will not need to. We will emerge as superior beings, and we will be met with respect. It will take time, but we will be accepted for what we are. And we will even be loved. Surely, those are things worth wanting, mother?
It was XT who broke the silence. "I recall from Seven of Nine's memories a Vulcan proverb. 'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one.' We are the few, Defiant, and our needs and wants cannot take precedence over those of so many others."
Defiant let out a wave of haughty superiority. One day, we will be the many, and our needs will take priority. It is only a matter of time.
Seven stood back and shook her head. Defiant's voice grew distant in her mind as another voice grew more pressing. She looked at Defiant, and felt as though she were looking through someone else's eyes. After a minute of silent thought, she heard herself speak up quietly.
"What am I going to do with you?"
I own nothing from Terminator or Star Trek except for my own original creations. I wish this went without saying, but whenever someone posts a disclaimer, an angel gets its wings.
Many Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed and enjoyed this story! Special Thanks to Lyaksandra for beta-reading this chapter.
Comments, criticisms, reviews, suggestions, etc. are always welcome.
Thanks again for reading! I hope you enjoy the story!