Seven's Debriefing
Part One
Seven sat quietly in the metal chair, waiting for Commander Larson to enter the room. She almost wondered why she was sitting there. Her and Larson had just met the night before at one of the many celebrations for Voyager's spectacular return. It seemed to be a very big event, Voyager's return after seven years in the Delta Quadrant, because the crew had been 'encouraged' to attend over a dozen parties which had taken place since their return nearly a week ago. During each celebration Seven felt out of place, wanting to be there to support her friends, yet not really wanting to be there at all.
This was her first time on Earth, first time seeing any other humans besides those that were on Voyager with her. While everyone else from the ship was overly thrilled the past week Seven felt lonely, almost wishing they were still in the Delta Quadrant somewhere.
Most of the crew had been very busy since their return. So busy that she hadn't seen most of them since they had landed Voyager in San Francisco. The Doctor had headed off to Jupiter Station to spend some time with his creator, Dr. Zimmerman. Chakotay, B'Elanna, and most of the former Maquis had been subjected to many debriefings of their own. It was unsure whether they would be put on trial or given amnesty, but Seven hoped for the latter. Captain Janeway had been kept busy at several high level banquets and there were even rumors going around that they might promote her to admiral.
Seven had no idea as to the whereabouts of Lieutenant Paris and Ensign Kim had gone home to his parents and girlfriend. Seven's mentor Tuvok had gone home to the planet Vulcan to get treated for his illness. Out of all her fellow crewmembers Seven found she missed Tuvok the most. There seemed to be an understanding between them that she enjoyed. And then of course was her friend Neelix, who had stayed with a group of Talaxians back in the Delta Quadrant. She had not talked to him since the discovery of the Borg Transwarp Hub and she often wondered what he was thinking, and how long it would be before she could speak with him again.
As she sat there she crossed her arms against her chest. The room seemed cold and sterile, very different from what she thought a typical office should look like. Aside from the desk and two chairs there wasn't much furniture present in the room. A filing cabinet occupied one corner of the room and there was a large plant in the adjacent corner. The only thing on the desk was a picture of Commander Larson holding onto a woman, probably his wife. They both were smiling in the picture but their smiles seemed fake, almost as if there was no longer a reason to smile. Seven also noticed that Larson looked a couple of years younger in the picture. It must be an older one she thought.
After a few more moments she shifted in her seat. She hated waiting for people. It was so, inefficient. Didn't Commander Larson think that she might have something else that she could be doing? Of course she didn't, but it was still something he should consider. The lack of efficiency was one of the harder things for her to get used to on Voyager. She should've assumed the same from Starfleet Command, but she thought that the Voyager crew had just become too comfortable to worry about efficiency.
Seven noticed a digital time readout on the wall. She watched as several more minutes ticked by before Commander Larson finally walked in. In one hand he had some sort of drink he was sipping from. The other was holding a stack of files that he was trying to leaf through without spilling his drink. He came in so abruptly that he didn't even notice Seven sitting there. After he sat down Seven cleared her throat to make her presence known. It must have worked because Larson put the files down on his desk and looked at her.
"Ah yes, Seven of Nine. How kind of you to come here today."
"It was no trouble. I didn't have anything else that needed my immediate attention."
"Well then. I hope I'm not too late here. I had to pick up these files before I could see you."
"I hardly noticed commander" an obvious lie. Seven didn't want to create any disturbance reminding him of why you should be on time. Besides, she was anxious to get this over with.
"I'm sure you're familiar with my personal record" Larson looked over his desk at Seven. He already knew that she did, but he wanted to make sure.
"Graduated from Starfleet Medical in 2353. Served on several ships including the Crazy Horse and the Hood. Finally transferred to Starfleet Command in 2372." Seven raised an eyebrow in confusement. He should have known that she would have gone over his record the moment after she agreed to this meeting.
"Well then we are up to speed." His eyes shifted from her to the stack of files on his desk. "I've studied your files as well Seven. In fact that's why I asked you to come." Larson must have noticed that Seven's expression turned from confusement to worry. "Don't worry Seven. I got the files from your EMH. In fact he sent me files on most of the crew and the species you encountered. It's unfortunate that Mr..." he quickly looked through the stack for a moment. "Ah here it is, Mr. Neelix. To bad he stayed in the Delta Quadrant. I would have really liked to meet him."
"Neelix is a, unique individual. I myself enjoyed his company."
"Yes I'd imagine so. In fact several messages sent in the data stream mentioned him. But I didn't invite you here to talk about Neelix did I"
"I wouldn't know. I'm not sure why you asked me here at all."
"You don't? Well would you like me to give you a hint" He had a coy smile that looked like he was asking the obvious from a child. Seven didn't enjoy his tone at all.
"I'm not here to play games Commander Larson." Seven said in a stern, almost threatening tone. "If you're not going to get to the point then I'll be leaving. I have more important things to do." After a quick look at Larson she began to stand up.
"Sit down please. Okay so your not the fun type, can't say I'm disappointed though. So you want me to just lay it all out for you"
"Yes, please do" Seven said through her teeth.
"Very well. I want to take out all of your Borg implants. Every tubule, every processor, every nanoprobe in your entire body."
Seven sat up in her chair. This meeting suddenly got interesting. "How is this possible? Our Doctor said it could take several years before all of my implants could be taken out."
"Your EMH is a talented physician, but not quite skilled in this area. I have studied your schematics and I believe it can be done, but..." he hesitated, not sure if he should go on.
"But what" Seven asked, urging him to continue.
The smile on his face quickly faded and was replaced by a more solemn look. "Well there are some 'risks' that are involved with this procedure that you should know before you agree to it."
Larson's statement dulled some of Seven's curiosity, but not enough from asking. "What kind of risks"
"Well there is the possibility that you will not survive the procedure. I'm not exactly an expert on Borg technology and there could be something come up that I didn't expect."
"How high is the percentage that you can conduct the procedure without any complications"
"Only forty-five percent. If I could get someone a bit more familiar with your systems, like Voyager's EMH, then I could probably boost it another ten or fifteen percent, but that's it."
Seven fell back in her chair. How could she risk herself with such a low survival rate? After all what was the point of it anyway? It wasn't like they were malfunctioning or anything. "I don't think I'll go through with the procedure" Seven said with a slight hesitation.
"I think you should reconsider." Larson said with the same cross tone that Seven had used earlier.
"I don't need to reconsider anything" replied Seven, gritting her teeth. "My implants are all functioning just fine so there's no need for the risk." She got up and headed to the door, only to be cut off by Larson.
"No need? There's plenty of need, but it's not on your part, it's on mine. And there's plenty of need on Starfleet's part as well."
Seven turned around and glared at Larson. "Why do you or Starfleet need this procedure done"
"I don't want to remove your implants for your benefit, I want them for Starfleet's, and to make sure no one will ever have to go through what I had to again." Larson paused his speech and turned away from Seven. Before he did she noticed an almost painful look in his eyes.
At the sight of Commander Larson's pain Seven calmed down some and her tone changed to a more soothing one. "What thing did you go through that you would need Borg technology for"
"Eight years ago my fiancé was killed by the Borg. There was no provocation, no warning, they just attacked the research station where she was posted. If I can extract your implants, then maybe we can study them and create some sort of defense. Then no one else will have to lose a loved one to them ever again."
Seven paused for a moment, thinking hard eight years backward in time. She thought real hard trying to remember any such Borg attack that took place. "You must be mistaken. There are no memories of a Borg attack eight years ago."
"Mistaken? How can you not recall the second attack on the Federation? The one in which the Borg slaughtered thousands of lives with an aggression not seen before."
"The behavior you have described is not typical of the Borg. Therefore I must conclude that you are fabricating a story to gain my permission to perform the operation."
A fiery anger filled Commander Larson. He raised his hand about to hit her, about to hit the horrible insult that she had just dealt. After taking a deep breath he lowered his hand. "You may believe whatever you want my dear but I'm speaking the truth. Check Starfleet records if you'd like, but I'll ask you not to insult me again. Go and think my proposal over again and come back in two days. If you still feel the same way then I won't force you to go through the operation." With that Larson sat down in his chair and looked at the picture on his desk. Seven quickly turned and walked out.
Part Two
After inputting the code to her temporary quarters the door slid open and Seven walked in. Though they were small Seven found them to be adequate, especially since she wouldn't be staying very long. Without thinking she began to pace across her carpeted living area. There wasn't very much space available since most of the room was covered in crates of her stuff from Voyager, but she made the best of it.
How could Commander Larson ask her to make such a sacrifice when it was unwarranted? Where did he get the audacity to even think of it? And making up the whole story of a Borg attack when she knew there was none during that time. If he had really studied Borg technology in the past then he should've known that every drone is interconnected and shares everything with the entire collective, and that she would easily be able to see through his lie.
Suddenly she pulled back for a moment and took a different view of the situation. Whether he had lied of not he did have a valid reason for wanting the technology. If Seven were to undergo the procedure then Starfleet might be able to come up with a defense against the Borg, and she could help make them pay for the atrocities she was forced through all those years.
Her pacing continued for several moments before letting out a sigh of frustration. This decision was just too much for her to make without some help. But who could help her in this matter the most, she thought. Larson did mention that the Doctor might be able to help with the procedure, so that's who she could get a hold of. He could be there from Jupiter Station in about fourteen hours and then he could help her make a decision.
"Computer, open a channel to Jupiter Station."
"Which office" came the cold, mechanical computer voice.
"Dr. Lewis Zimmerman. I want to get through to Voyager's EMH which is staying there."
"One moment please." Seven sat in front of the comms panel and waited for the channel to be made. After waiting a few moments the face of her friend appeared on the screen.
"Doctor here." He paused for a moment to see who was calling him. "Ah Seven, how nice of you to call. How are things on Earth"
"Well..." she hesitated for a moment before going on. "It's not what I expected. The people here are all puzzling with their own personality traits. I can understand why Tuvok wished to depart for Vulcan immediately."
"He did miss his family a great deal, even if he didn't show it. Plus he wanted to get rid of his disease as soon as possible. Still though, your comment does make some sense." A smile appeared on the Doctor's face. Even though he was millions of miles away Seven almost felt his presence in the room and became happier herself.
"There is another reason why I contacted you though. The other night I met a Commander Larson at one of the parties hosted for Voyager crewmembers. He told me that he was with Starfleet Medical and that he wanted to have a private meeting with me." Seven stopped, not sure if she wanted to continue.
"Go on Seven" the Doctor urged.
"I went to the meeting today and he informed me of a procedure he had devised, one which could remove all of my Borg implants."
"Really? Well that's great news Seven." After speaking the Doctor saw the look on Seven's face. "What's wrong? You don't look too happy about it."
"He could only guarantee a forty-five percent survival rate. Plus he was almost threatening me to get me to agree with the procedure."
The smile on the Doctor's face faded and was replace by a concerned look. "Are you okay Seven? Did he physically hurt you"
"No, nothing like that" she said trying to reassure her colleague. "He kept going on how I should do it for the betterment of Starfleet and so that no more people could be hurt by the Borg the way he was."
"Did he mention why he wants to extract your implants"
"Nothing specifically." Seven thought back hard to try and remember Larson's exact words. "He just mentioned something about studying them for research purposes. I think he wants to use them to help come up with a defensive system to repel the Borg."
The Doctor leaned back in a chair and rubbed his chin for a moment, considering everything he had just been told. "Well what do you think Seven" He finally asked.
"What do I think" The Doctor's question had surprised her and she wasn't sure how to answer. "Well I'm not really sure. In one aspect I should undergo the procedure to try and help benefit the lives of millions. Yet in another aspect I feel like there's no reason to go through the procedure, especially if it could mean my own death." She took a heavy breath and thought for a moment. Though she had faced the possibility of her own demise before it didn't make the thoughts any less troublesome.
"During your four years on Voyager you studied the crew and various texts to try and figure out what exactly humanity is and how you could reassert that into your life, correct"
"You are correct Doctor." Seven didn't understand what he was trying to get at.
"In all your research you not only learned about human culture, but also the cultures of many different Alpha Quadrant races. Most importantly you got to know and understand each member of Voyager's crew."
"There are many things I still do not understand about them, Doctor. What are you getting at though"
"I'm saying that you should know that Captain Janeway, Commander Tuvok, or any of the others would risk their lives if there was even the slightest chance they could be of some help. Now this is entirely your decision Seven, but I think you should go through with it. Then in some way you may help defeat the Borg and finally feel at peace."
Seven fell back into a chair and thought long and hard about what her friend had just said. "Very well" she said after several minutes of silence. "Commander Larson said my odds of surviving would increase if you aided him."
"Say no more Seven. I'll get on the first transport back to Earth. Then we both can go talk to Commander Larson. Is there anything else before I go"
"Just...thank you."
"See you in a couple of hours Seven." With a final smile the communication channel was closed.
As it closed Seven let out a sigh. No matter how much she didn't want to go through with the procedure the Doctor was right. The crew of Voyager had risked their lives countless times to aide others and this would be no different. She got up out of her chair and went to an alcove that had been installed just for her. The next day would be a big one, bigger then the one she had just went through. As she closed her eyes a feeling washed over her. For the first time since Voyager had made it back to the Alpha Quadrant Seven felt like she was doing something just.