Chapter 58.

The gift.

(Scott POV)

Tuvok, The Doc and I headed for Cargo bay 2. Where 7 was still in that alcove.

"So How's the newest addition to our family?" I said.

"At the moment, she's stable, But the prognosis isn't clear, Her human physiology has begun to reassert itself, Respiratory system, Neurological functions, Immune response, But the systems are swarming with Borg implants, There's a battle being waged inside her body, Between the biological and the technological, And I'm not sure which is going to win," Doc said.

"Well It's time, we brought her up to date," I said. Wake her,"

As the Doc did that.

"Captain McCall, What have you," 7 said. taking a step. "The others, I can't hear the others, The voices are gone,"

"We had to neutralize the neuro transceiver in your upper spinal column, Your link to the collective has been severed," I said.

"You will return this drone to the Borg," 7 said.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," I said.

"You will return this drone to the Borg," 7 said.

"If I were to turn this ship around, And head back into Borg Territory, I'd be putting my crew at risk, I'm not prepared to do that," I said. "Try to understand, You have to stay on board Voyager, But I'm offering you freedom from the collective, and I assure you, We'll do everything we can to help the Transition,"

"You till supply us with a subspace Transmitter, and leave us on the nearest planet," 7 said. "The Borg will come for us,"

"It's too late for that, Your human cells are starting to regenerate, You won't survive without Medical Care," I said.

"We need nothing from you," 7 said. "We are borg, We are,"

"Doc," I said.

"This implant is being rejected by the tissue underneath, It's going to have to be removed," Doc said.

"You will suppress the human immune system," 7 said.

"I'm sorry, but the process has gone too far, We've got to get you to sickbay," Doc said.

"No, We are borg," 7 said.

As Tuvok held her as the Doc put her under.

"Get her to sickbay," I said.

XXX

I was in the ready room.

As my door bell rang.

"Come in," I said.

As Chakotay came in.

"Ships' status report," Chakotay said. "We've got 2 team on the hull stripping off the Borg armour, They're working around the clock, But it's still slow going,"

"What about the Warp drive," I said.

"B'Elanna is having problems cleaning out the plasma relays, It's disrupting the antimatter Reaction, Until she's got it fixed we're stuck at impulse," Chakotay said. "She's requesting all personnel with a level 3 engineering rating or higher to lend a hand,"

"Granted, We best to Keep that Borg armour somewhere we could use it for something else. Tactical update," I said.

"Long range sensors are picking up residual Transwarp signatures, Borg Vessel, They passed by probably 3 days ago," Chakotay said.

"So we're not out of the woods yet," I said.

"Having half our propulsion system overrun by Borg Implants doesn't make repairs any easier," Chakotay said.

"7 of 9 could help us with that," I said.

"That might be true, If she were willing," Chakotay said. "But she's not in the most cooperative mood,"

"That could change," I said. "I just have to reach her somehow, Annika Hansen,"

"Our Borg?" Chakotay said.

"It took some digging through the database, but I managed to find a single entry in the records of DS4," I said. "Her parents were unconventional. They fancied themselves explorers, But wanted nothing to do with Starfleet or the Federation, Their names were last recorded at remote outpost in the Omega Sector, They refused to file a flight plan. Apparently They aimed their small ship toward the Delta Quadrant and were never heard from again,"

"For all we know, Annika and Her parents were the first humans the Borg ever assimilated," Chakotay said.

"From what she's told me, That was almost 20 years ago," I said.

"So she was raised by the Borg, It's the only life she ever really knew, if you were thinking of bringing her into the fold, that might not be possible," Chakotay said.

"What's the alternative toss her back to the wolves," I said. "No,"

"Sickbay to Captain McCall," Doc said.

"Go ahead," I said.

"Could you come down here, Captain, We're having some problems," Doc said.

"I'll be right there," I said.

As I got down there.

"Report," I said.

"I'm afraid we have a decision to make, A difficult one, Her human immune system has reasserted itself with a vengeance, Body armour, Borg Organelles, Biosynthetic glands, They're all being rejected," Doc said. "Her life is in danger, I have little recourse but to remove the Borg Technology,"

"Which is the last thing 7 of 9 would want," I said.

"Hence the Difficult decision," Doc said. "If a patient told me not to treat them, even if the situation were life threatening, I would be ethically obligated to honour that request,"

"This is no ordinary patient, She may have been raised by Borg, Raised to think like a borg, But she's with us now, and underneath all that Technology, she is a human being whether she's ready to accept that or Not," I said. "And until she is ready, Someone has to make the decisions for her. Proceed with the surgery,"

"Aye Captain," Doc said.

As I left Sickbay. But then the Doc called me back down there.

"They say the eye is the window to the soul, In this case It's a little bit more," Doc said. "I fabricated this artificial organ to replace her eye piece but I've had to retain some of the Borg circuitry along the optic nerve As a result she'll have increased acuity in one eye, Note how perfectly I've matched the pigment of the iris to her human eye,"

"Excellent work, Doc," I said. "I admire you attention to detail, When can I speak with her?"

"She's out of immediate danger, and I don't plan to resume the extraction process until tomorrow, I can wake her up now if you'd like," Doc said.

"I would," I said. "How are you Kes,"

"I feel exhilarated, Scott, I've never been so focused in my life, and my telepathic abilities are stronger than they've ever been," Kes said.

"Your performance today was astonishing, However, your psychokinetic powers are still undisciplined, and, as a result, unpredictable," Tuvok said.

"I feel Like I'm in control," Kes said.

"Nevertheless, you must proceed with caution, and with my assistance," Tuvok said.

"What are you suggesting," I said.

"A series of guided meditations to help her explore the depth of these new abilities," Tuvok said.

"Kes," I said.

"I'm ready," Kes said.

"Well then if you'll excuse me we should begin immediately," Tuvok said. As they walked on.

As I headed in as the Doc woke her up.

"Ready when you are, Captain," Doc said.

"Do it," I said.

As the Doc wakes her up.

"Don't be alarmed, you're in sickbay," Doc said. "You're going to be fine,"

"What have you done to me," 7 said.

"Your body was rejecting the Borg technology, You were dying, I'm sorry but we had no choice," Doc said. "Those are dermaplastic grafts, They'll help the regeneration process,"

"Unacceptable," 7 said. "You should have let us die,"

"I couldn't do that," I said.

"This drone cannot survive outside the collective," 7 said.

"I beg to differ, now that the Borg implant are being excised, your human systems are free to thrive and thriving they are," Doc said. "As a matter of fact, I,"

"Doc," I said. Making him walk away. "I want to help you, But I need to understand what you're going through,"

"Do not engage us in superficial attempts at sympathy," 7 said.

"It's obvious that you're in pain, that you're frightened, that you feel isolated, alone," I said.

"You are an individual, You are small, you cannot understand what it is to be Borg," 7 said.

"No, But I can imagine, You were part of a vast consciousness, Billions of minds working together, a harmony of purpose and thought, no indecision, no doubts, the security and strength of a unified will, and you've lost that," I said.

"This drone is small now," 7 said. "Alone, One voice, one mind, The silence is unacceptable, We need to others,"

"I can't give you back to the Borg, but you're not alone, You part of an human community now, a human collective, we may be individuals, but we live and work together, You can have some of the unity you require right here on Voyager," I said.

"Insufficient," 7 said.

"It'll have to do, and the fact is this community needs you, The Borg modifications you made to Voyager are disrupting our warp drive We need your help to remove them," I said. "Your expertise, Your cooperation, You must comply,"

As we headed down to Engineering.

"This is like pulling a weed," B'Elanna said. "You think you've got them all out, and then"

"You have neglected to remove the autonomous regeneration sequencers," 7 said.

"Lt Torres, Ensign Kim, You remember 7 of 9," I said.

"How could we forget?" Harry said.

"We can't afford to delay repairs any longer, So I've asked her to help us remove the Borg modifications, She only has a few hours, before she returns to Sickbay, I suggest you put her to good use," I said.

"You can start with the plasma relays, They're in Jefferies Tube 13," B'Elanna said.

"Jefferies tube 13 alpha section 12," 7 said. "We fully recall the engineering specifications of your vessel,"

"Good, can you also recall the way it looked before you turned it into a Borg circus," B'Elanna said.

"Yes," 7 said.

"Well now that the pleasantries are over, Why don't you get to work," I said. "I want updates every hour,"

"Yes, Captain," B'Elanna said.

As I headed for the Bridge.

As soon as I got there. Clara was on Tactical.

"I thought you were with Chloe," I said.

"No, Chloe is with Sam and Naomi," Clara said.

After a few minutes.

"Captain somebody is trying to access the subspace Transmitter," Tom said.

"Red Alert," I said. As the Klaxon went Red.

"Captain I don't how but she's erected some kind of Forcefield around the door," B'Elanna said. "We can't break through it,"

"She's bypassed our security protocols," Chakotay said.

"Disable the Transmitter," I said.

"It's too late," Chakotay said.

"Tuvok to Bridge, Status," Tuvok said.

"Clara just picked up some kind of explosion in the Jefferies tube just as she was about to initiate her transmission, We don't know what caused it," I said.

"I believe I may have the answer captain," Tuvok said.

XXX

As I went and meet up with Tuvok.

"I can tell by the expression on your face, That you've got some bad news," I said.

"I have no expression on my face," Tuvok said. "However you are correct, The news on 2 separated fronts is not good, I checked the subspace bandwidths, At least a partial signal was transmitted from Voyager,"

"Enough for a Borg ship to track?" I said.

"Possibly," Tuvok said.

"The second front," I said.

"I believe there's also cause for Concern, regarding Kes," Tuvok said.

"Why?" I said.

"Internal sensor logs show that she destabilized the Jefferies tube at the molecular level, The effect weakened the infrastructure throughout the deck, She wishes to develop her abilities further, I am not certain it would be safe for Kes or Voyager," Tuvok said.

"I've got a Ocampa who wants to be something more and a borg who's afraid of becoming something less, Here's to Vulcan stability," I said.

As we got to the Brig.

"Wait for me," I said.

"So this is Human freedom," 7 said.

"I've decided to keep you in the Brig, Until I'm certain you won't try to harm us again," I said. "If necessary, the Doctor can treat you here, I honestly believe you were going to help us,"

"You were not deceived Captain McCall, It was my intention to help you," 7 said.

"What happened?" I said.

"There was a chance to contact the collective, I took advantage of it," 7 said. "Your attempt to assimilate this drone will fail, You can alter our physiology, but you cannot change our nature, We will betray you, We are Borg,"

"I've met Borg who were freed from the collective, It wasn't easy for them to accept their individuality, But in time they did, You're no different, Granted you were assimilated at a very young age, And your transition may be more difficult, But it will happen," I said.

"If it does happen, We will become fully human," 7 said.

"Yes, I hope so," I said.

"We will be autonomous independent," 7 said.

"That's what individuality is all about," I said.

"If at that time, we choose to return to the Collective, Will you permit it," 7 said.

"I don't think you'll want to do that," I said.

"You would deny us the choice, as you deny us now, You have imprisoned us in the name of humanity, yet you will not grant us your most cherished human right, to choose our own fate, You are hypocritical manipulative, We do not want to be what you are, Return us to the Collective," 7 said.

"You lost the capacity to make a rational choice the moment you were assimilated, They took that from you, And until I'm convinced you've gotten it back, I'm making the choice for you, You're staying here," I said.

"Then you are no different than the Borg," 7 said.

XXX

I was on the Bridge.

"Captain, I'm picking up some strange energy readings from Deck 2, The mess hall," Harry said.

"Bridge to Neelix, what's going on down there," I said. "Neelix, Report,"

"The Bulkhead in that section is coming apart," Harry said.

"Increase the structural integrity field of Deck 2," Chakotay said.

"Tuvok," I said as We went there.

Then we managed to get Kes to Sickbay.

"I've run every conceivable neural analysis, everything shot of dissecting the brain itself, Her telesynaptic activity is increasing, But I don't know why or how to stop it," Doc said. "Have the ships internal sensors revealed anything?"

"For 17.4 seconds Kes's Body went into a state of Cellular flux, She began to destabilize at the subatomic level," Tuvok said.

"And for some reason, her atoms re-established their bonds, and she was back in one piece," I said.

"But what about the next time?" Doc said. "Her condition is escalating, We must find a way to suppress it or the last we'll see of Kes could very well be her molecules blowing through the ventilation ducts,"

"Tuvok, Enhance the structural integrity fields throughout the ship, if Kes has another incident, I'd like to avoid a hull breach," I said. "Doc, Maybe it's time we broaden our horizons, This appear to have gone beyond medical science, We're into particle physics now,"

"I'll try looking through the quantum substructure database, Maybe it'll give me some inspiration," Doc said.

"Keep me informed," I said.

XXX

I was on the Bridge.

"Ensign Ayala to the Bridge," Ayala said.

"Go ahead," I said.

"You'd better come down to the Brig, sir," Ayala said.

"On my way, Chakotay you got the Bridge," I said.

Then Headed down there.

"My designation is 7 of 9 but the others are gone, Designations are no longer relevant, I am one," 7 said.

"Yes, you are," I said.

"But I cannot function this way alone," 7 said.

"You're not alone, I'm willing to help you," I said.

"If that's true, you won't do this to me, Take me back to my own kind," 7 said.

"You are with your own kind, humans," I said.

"I don't remember being human," 7 said. "I don't know what it is to be human,"

As I grabbed the Datapad. Then Went to shut it down.

"What are you doing?" 7 said.

"I'm coming in," I said.

"I'll kill you," 7 said.

"I've heard that way too many times. and I don't think you will," I said. As I shut it down. "As you were Ensign,"

Then Went in.

"Do you remember her?" I said. "Her name was Annika Hansen, She was Born on Stardate 25479 at the Tendara Colony, There still a lot we don't know about her, Did she have any siblings, Who were her friends, Where did she go to school, What was her favourite colour,"

"Irrelevant, Take me back to the Borg," 7 said.

"I can't do that," I said.

"The quiet, one voice," 7 said.

"One Voice can be stronger than a thousand voices, Your mind is independent now With it's own unique identity," I said.

"You are forcing that identity upon me," 7 said. "It's not mine,

"Oh yes, it is, I'm just giving you back what was stolen from you, the existence you were denied, the child who never had a chance that life is yours to live now," I said.

"I don't want that life," 7 said.

"It's what you are, Don't resist it," I said

"No," 7 said taking a swing at me before I caught her. "No,"

XXX

"Captain's log Supplemental, Warp drive is still offline, And we don't know whether the Borg have detected us, Kes's psychokinetic abilities continue to damage the ship's structural integrity and as a result, Our defences have been compromised, End log," I said.

As I was outside her quarter and rang the bell.

"Come in, Scott," Kes said.

"You wanted to see me," I said. "Oh Tuvok Mediation lamp, I was with him when he got it 6 years ago from a Vulcan master, who doubled the price when she saw our starfleet insignias, Just after I meet him,"

"I'm sure it was the logical thing to do," Kes said. As I sat down next to her. "I've been thinking about everything that's been going on, and I know what I have to do, It's time for me to Leave Voyager,"

"Kes," I said.

"Something important is happening to me, and I want to explore it, But I can't stay here any longer, I'm a danger to all of you," Kes said.

"Then stop, We're going to get to the Bottom of this, the Doc already working on a new approach," I said.

"Everybody thinks that what's happening is a medical condition, That's not it at all, I'm going through a transformation, I don't know how or why but every cell in my body is telling me, that I'm changing into something more," Kes said.

"But what if it's not true, What if you're simply being swept up in the excitement of what you think is happening, But it's not real, On the basis of a feeling an intuition, You're asking me to let you go," I said. "Quite likely forever? I can't do that,"

"It's my decision my fate, Would you really try to stop me?" Kes said.

"No, But argue with you, even plead with you to reconsider, absolutely for as long as it takes," I said.

"It won't work, Look at me, Scott, I'm the same Kes, you've always known, I haven't lost my judgment, I'm not under some alien influence, I believe something crucial is happening to me, and I want to see it through," Kes said.

"You've lived most of your life here, Voyager has been your home, and you've been a vital part of this family, I'm going to miss you," I said.

As I hugged her.

"Now all I have to do is tell the Doctor," Kes said. "He's not going to be happy, It's starting,"

"McCall to Bridge," I said.

"Chakotay here," Chakotay said.

"Prepare a shuttle for launch, and have Tuvok meet me on Deck 6," I said.

"Captain," Chakotay said.

"Kes is leaving us," I said as we started heading there. "Come on,"

"Scott I can't stop it," Kes said as something blow behind us.

"McCall to Chakotay, Beam us directly to the shuttle bay," I said.

"Captain, we can't get a lock," Chakotay said.

"Acknowledged," I said. "Looks like we're going have to do this the hard way," As We made it to the Bay.

"Tuvok," Kes said. "I can't keep going,"

"I will attempt a mind meld, To help you delay the Transformation," Tuvok said Then Soon he got threw back.

"Tuvok," I said.

"You must hurry," Tuvok said.

As I got Kes into a shuttle.

"Kes," I said. Before I kissed her one last time.

"Goodbye Scott," Kes said.

"Bye Kes," I said. Then I headed out and sealed the shuttle and got out. "McCall to Bridge. Kes is on the shuttle, Initiate launch sequence,"

"Acknowledged," Chakotay said.

As I got Tuvok and Headed to the Bridge.

"Can you hail her?" I said. As soon as we got there.

"I've been trying," Harry said.

"It's happening, It's happening to me," Kes said.

"Her atomic structure is completely destabilizing," Harry said.

"My gift to you," Kes said.

"Torres to Bridge. The Warp core just came on line, Matter, antimatter reaction at 102%, 110% 120%," B'Elanna said.

"This can't be right, our speed is impossible," Tom said.

"We are coming apart," Harry said.

"Use the ZPM's," I said.

"I can't, They are not responding," Harry said.

Then we finally drop out.

"We've just dropped out of whatever it was we were in," Tom said.

"Systems coming back on line," Chakotay said.

"On screen," I said. "Where are we,"

"9.500 lightyears from where we were," Tom said.

"Kes thrown us safely beyond Borg Space, 10 years closer to home," I said.

XXX

I was Called down to Cargo Bay 2 as the Doc and I went in.

"I've extracted 82% of the Borg hardware, The remaining bio-implants are stable, and better than anything I could synthesize, at such short notice," Doc said.

"It is acceptable," 7 said.

"Fashion of course is hardly my forte, Nevertheless, I've managed to balance functionality and aesthetics, is a pleasing enough manner, I also took the liberty of stimulating your hair follicles, a vicarious experience for me, as you might imagine," Doc said.

"You'll have to spend a few hours each day or so regenerating in a borg alcove until your human metabolism can function on its own, We'll leave one operational," I said.

"Understood," 7 said.

"Let's see how things go over the next few weeks, I'll consider granting you access to the rest of the ship, once I can trust that you won't try to get us all assimilated again," I said.

"It will not happen again," 7 said.

"Good, If you need anything Contact me," I said. As I was heading out.

"Red," 7 said.

"What," I said.

"The child you spoke of the girl, her favourite colour was red," 7 said.

That's all for this chapter.

More to follow.

Stay tuned and safe.

Love Y'all

PEACE!