"You're important too." (Janeway & Seven)

Author's Note: This story contains spoilers for Seasons 1 and 2 of Star Trek: Picard and Season 1 of Star Trek: Prodigy.

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"Captain Seven of Nine of the U.S.S. Stargazer, reporting for duty." Seven stood at attention, hands behind her back, in the posture that was still familiar to her even though she'd been away from Starfleet for twelve years.

"At ease," said Admiral Kathryn Janeway, smiling. "Oh, Seven, it's so good to see you."

She put her hands on Seven's shoulders and looked her up and down. They had both changed a great deal; the older woman's hair had turned gray and her face had new lines in it, while the younger woman wore a red command uniform so fresh out of the replicator that the creases were still sharp, and had tied her hair back in a plain ponytail rather than the severe twist she used to wear. The look on Kathryn's face hadn't changed at all, however. Her blue eyes shone with the same affection and pride they always had, and when she pulled Seven into a hug, she still smelled like coffee.

It was more of a welcome than Seven could have hoped for.

"It's good to see you too, Kathryn," she said, returning the embrace.

"Please, sit. Coffee?"

"I still don't drink it." The long-standing difference of opinion made it feel almost as if no time had passed at all. "Sparkling water, please."

Kathryn ordered from the replicator and ushered Seven towards the couch. Her office at Starfleet Headquarters was so much like her old ready room on Voyager, Seven had to look out the window at the clouded sky to make sure they were not at warp. The walls and upholstery were the same standard-issue shades of teal, blue and silver, and Kathryn's collection of art was still there on the shelf in one corner. Seven recognized the statuette of the cat standing on a globe; she had always liked that cat, even as a raw ex-Borg who barely understood what art was. Only the photographs had been updated. Some of their former shipmates looked older, some were accompanied by new faces Seven didn't recognize, while others were frozen at the ages they had been when they were lost. Icheb. Chakotay. She looked away.

"How's the crew?"

"As well as can be expected."

"Chakotay's ship is still missing, then?"

Kathryn nodded and squared her jaw. "We're not giving up, though, any more than the Pathfinder Project gave up on us. There's always hope."

"Agreed."

Seven had considered the odds more than once of Chakotay and the Protostar being lost in the Delta Quadrant forever, and had told herself to accept that he must be dead. But if there was one thing Kathryn was good at, it was inspiring hope against the odds. Seven's relationship with Chakotay might be long over, but they would always be shipmates. Not even 70,000 light years could separate the crew that Kathryn had brought together.

"So … the Stargazer, huh?" Kathryn reached over to straighten the pips on Seven's collar. "How fitting for my Astrometrics officer. How are you feeling? Nervous? Excited?"

"Both … also apprehensive. Command's not the track I would have chosen. You know how I am with people."

"I don't know. It seems to me like your social skills have improved by leaps and bounds. And regardless of that, you always had a gift for leadership. You served in the Queen's unimatrix as a drone, you ran the Astrometrics department on Voyager, you taught the children … you can do anything you set your mind to, Seven."

It did Seven a world of good to hear that. Kathryn had always seen more in her than she saw in herself, and what she saw had always come true. "Thank you."

"How did it happen, anyway? Whatever you can tell me that isn't classified."

"We were on a mission involving the Borg."

"The Borg again?" Kathryn frowned and rubbed the side of her neck where she'd once been partially assimilated. "I heard about that. They'd better not treat this alliance the way they did ours on Voyager. How are you holding up?"

"Could've been worse," said Seven with a shrug. "Anyway, the Stargazer's previous captain had … suddenly resigned." She decided on the simplest version of a very complicated story. "Admiral Picard decided that the ship needed to be commanded by someone experienced with the Borg. He gave me a field commission. Even the Board couldn't overrule it. This time."

Seven was deeply conflicted about her new rank. Pride told her to take off those pips and throw them back in the admirals' faces. Twelve years ago, they had rejected her for her Borg history, and now they were only accepting her so as not to cross the powerful Admiral. But on the other hand, a Starfleet ship was the only place she'd ever belonged in her adult lifetime; she'd been searching for that with the Rangers ever since, but had never found it. Perhaps the Stargazer really could be a fresh start.

"It's the least they can do," said Kathryn, her voice dropping to a near-growl, evidently still angry on Seven's behalf even after all these years. "You saved us so many times, you more than earned it. And that's just the times I know about."

Seven lowered her eyes at this reminder of just how long they'd been out of contact. Kathryn might not have meant it to sting, but it did. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For leaving the way I did."

When the Board had rejected Seven's Starfleet application, Kathryn had threatened to resign in protest. Seven had crossed the Federation border the next day, leaving a brief message that said not to worry, but did not mention where she was going. It had seemed logical at the time, but looking back, she knew that logic had had nothing to do with it.

"I was pissed at first, let me tell you," said Kathryn wryly. "But I think I understand now. You thought it was for the best, didn't you?"

"Starfleet is your life. I didn't want you to throw that away for me … "

"So you decided to throw yourself away instead," the older woman finished. "Like you tried with the Caatati, the nebula, the first Borg Queen … You really do have something of a martyr complex, don't you?"

"I learned from the best."

They locked eyes for a moment, giving each other identical blue-eyed glares, but it was Kathryn who cracked a rueful smile and looked away first. "Only this time, I wasn't there to bring you back."

There was an unspoken regret in her face and voice that made it clear how much Seven's decision must have hurt her, even if she was ready to forgive. What had seemed like a sacrifice had been selfish in retrospect; all Seven had wanted was to get away from everything that hurt her, like her six-year-old self hiding under a console on the Raven, with no thought to the consequences. Still, she had met the Rangers afterward and done some good with her life, so she wouldn't undo it if she could.

"You're not responsible for me any more, Kathryn. You can't always stop me from making the wrong decisions. I needed to learn to stop myself."

It was a hard lesson, one she still failed sometimes and probably always would. She'd done several things she knew Kathryn wouldn't approve, such as premeditated murder, even if it was to avenge the deaths of people she cared about. This was one more reason she had accepted that field commission; she missed having a social structure to hold her accountable for her actions.

"Well, if there's any advice I'd like to give you as a newly-minted starship captain," said Kathryn, patting Seven's arm, "It's to keep that martyr complex in check. Take care of yourself, before you end up hiding in your quarters for two months."

"Not my style," Seven retorted. "I'm more likely to commandeer a shuttle and crash through the hangar doors."

Kathryn snorted with half-ashamed humor at this dark joke, which was not entirely a joke, as both those things had literally happened when they served together on Voyager.

"Seriously though," the older woman added gently, "Take care. As captain, you may have a duty to protect your crew, but you also have a duty to stay alive and well for them. Your health is no less important than theirs, do you understand that?"

"Yes, Admiral. I'll try. Raffi tells me the same thing."

"Who?"

"Commander Raffaella Musiker of the U.S.S. Excelsior. My … girlfriend." Seven blushed. It still felt strange to say that. After being left behind or betrayed once too often, it was still difficult to believe that someone could love her, but Raffi had made it clear that she was in it for the long term, and Seven was not afraid anymore.

"You're seeing someone?" Kathryn's face lit up. "Tell me about her."

"We met when I was on a Ranger mission. She's Starfleet too, although her record's about as complicated as mine. She's … " Seven paused and shook her head. How to describe a force of the universe like Raffaella Musiker in a few short words?

"She could talk a Ferengi out of his latinum, and she plays a mean game of kal-toh. She looks after a young cadet of ours like a mother. She's not afraid of these," gesturing to her ocular implant with her cybernetic hand, "And not obsessed with them either, she just accepts them as part of me. She's been through hell, but it doesn't make her feel any less. The opposite, actually. She's … extraordinary. And she thinks I am too."

"Well, she's right about that," said Kathryn. "You'll have to introduce me."

"I will."

"I'm so proud of you." Kathryn clinked her coffee mug against Seven's water glass. "Congratulations, Captain. Let's hope there's room enough in Starfleet for both of us."

"It's a big universe, Admiral. There'd better be."