Icheb
Author's Note: First of all, thank you for all the reviews so far. Especially to zanuda because I honestly did not know the proper spelling of kal-toh before and I was just guessing. As to the concern about Icheb's friend Ben having never met a Vulcan before; there were no typos there. In the shows, Starfleet has always come across as being mostly human in composition so that's how I'm picturing it in my head and I would be surprised if each class of cadets was so small that everyone knew each other, so I think its feasible that Ben has not yet met a Vulcan. As to Voyager becoming a museum so quickly, I figure the ship would quickly become much too special to just be sent back out for random missions since it has technology from the future and is not the flagship of the Federation fleet like the Enterprise.
Anyway, this is set roughly around the time of Nemesis (which occurs about a year after Endgame) so Romulus has not been destroyed yet. In case anyone was wondering about when this story was occurring. I hope you enjoy and reviews are appreciated.
Being required to take a class about the Borg made sense logically, but felt unnecessary to Icheb. With his experience on Voyager in addition to having been a Borg drone himself, he felt that his time could be spent in a more useful endeavor as he already had extensive knowledge of the Borg. But it was a required course for all cadets and there was the possibility that he would learn something from it, so he made sure to take the class at the same time and with the same professor as Ben. If the class became tedious or uninteresting, at least he would be sharing that experience with a friend.
Something he never expected from the class was to see Captain, rather Admiral now, Janeway sitting at the front of the room with the professor. She smiled at him as he entered the room and he nodded back as he went to take his seat. There were about twenty students in the class and the lecture began as soon as everyone had sat down.
The professor, a male human who held the rank of lieutenant commander, stepped up to the podium and began to speak, "Welcome, all of you. As I'm sure you are all aware this is a required course for everyone, regardless of academic focus, and I'm also sure some of you are expecting this to be one of the … less stimulating courses that you will take at the academy. But in the hope of making this a more memorable experience, I have asked Admiral Janeway to help us get to know the Borg. Just a quick reminder, Admiral Janeway spent seven years in the Delta Quadrant and crossed paths with the Borg Collective multiple times."
The admiral stood, a smile on her face, and clasped her hands in front of her, "Let's get right down to it, then. Who can tell me some of the more inventive ways that have been employed to fight the Borg?"
One of the cadets, a male Andorian, stood and began to provide a detailed account of Commander Riker's actions in defending Earth from the first Borg cube that had attacked the Federation. To Icheb, Riker's actions and the use of Captain Picard while still a drone were inventive, but probably not repeatable. The Borg Queen's actions and fascination with Captain Picard, going so far as to give him a name, were extremely unique and extremely unlikely to be happen with anyone else.
Once the Andorian had sat back down, Admiral Janeway nodded, "Yes, that was inventive, but we all know that one, Cadet. I'm looking for something a little more unusual."
After a long minute in which no one offered any other methods, Admiral Janeway asked, "Nothing? You should really do your reading. Oh well, maybe you just haven't gotten to that point in the course material yet. By far one of the more inventive ways of fighting the Borg that I've seen was thought up by the Brunali, a species native to the Delta Quadrant. After their planet was ravaged by the Collective, they created a way of modifying their DNA so that they could carry a very dangerous pathogen inside them that would wreak havoc on the Borg. It was a method so successful that a single individual was able to disable an entire cube."
Icheb, even though he knew he wasn't particularly knowledge about human interactions, could see that the other cadets were getting excited by this and one of them, a human female with long brown hair, spoke up, "I don't remember seeing any references to the Brunali in the course material, sir. If they came up with such an effective way of fighting the Borg, why hasn't it been included in the required readings?"
Admiral Janeway sighed and gestured toward him, "Well, Voyager has only returned to Federation space recently so the textbooks probably haven't been revised yet. More importantly, however, there is a significant drawback to this method, one that Icheb knows quite well."
When the other cadets turned to look at him, Icheb supplied them with the answer, "You have to be assimilated for the pathogen to affect the Borg. It will not work otherwise."
The excitement of the other cadets' seemed to diminish substantially upon hearing his words and none of them said anything, so Admiral Janeway spoke again, "As I said, it was one of the more ingenious methods of fighting the Borg, but it comes at a price. Let's move on, shall we?"
The rest of the lecture passed uneventfully. Admiral Janeway and the professor took turns speaking. They began the course by describing the purpose and history of the Borg, which was at least interesting to learn from the Federation's perspective. Hearing about the Battle of Wolf 359 was quite interesting, even if only a brief overview was given. The class would probably cover it in greater depth later. If nothing else, it helped Icheb understand why Admiral Janeway had been promoted so quickly upon returning from the Delta Quadrant and gave him a better appreciation for her accomplishments against the Collective.
When the class ended and the rest of the cadets filed out of the room, Icheb lingered and was not surprised when Admiral Janeway said, "I didn't expect to see you in this class, Icheb. I would have thought you knew all that you needed to know about the Borg, given your experience with them."
He came closer to the podium where she was standing beside the professor, "It is a required course, Admiral, so I felt it would be more appropriate to take the course instead of attempting to get an exemption."
She nodded, "I suppose that makes sense. You never know when you might learn something new. Experience can be a wonderful teacher, but learning the curriculum can't hurt. I'm still trying to learn all I can about the Dominion War so I don't make a fool of myself at Admiralty meetings. Imagine my surprise when I first saw a Cardassian cadet."
He remained silent as he did not quite understand what was so surprising about Cardassians in Starfleet. The Dominion War had ended years ago and the Cardassian Union was no longer hostile to the Federation. Thus far, he had only met one Starfleet cadet who was Cardassian and to his knowledge there were no other Cardassians in his year. Perhaps it was something that needed to be appreciated on a more emotional level.
Seeing that he did not fully understand and appreciate her surprise, she moved on from that topic, "Anyway, I don't know if you two have formally met. Icheb, meet Lieutenant Commander Reginald Barclay."
They shook hands as Lieutenant Commander Barclay smiled, "Its a pleasure to meet you, Icheb. Every member of Voyager's crew that I've spoken to have all spoken highly of you."
He nodded appreciatively, "Thank you, Commander. I hope I won't disappoint you."
Commander Barclay waved his hand dismissively, "Oh, I doubt that'll happen, especially in a course that every cadet takes. But before we take any more of your time, do you have anywhere that you have to be right now?"
"I have an hour before my next class begins."
Admiral Janeway gestured toward the door, "Good, we have a chance to talk then. We can grab a bite to eat and catch up. Unless you need to be somewhere, Reg."
Commander Barclay smiled, "I've actually got a free hour as well."
Icheb let them lead the way out of the classroom as he was only a cadet while they were an admiral and lieutenant commander. He found himself getting excited about talking to Admiral Janeway again. They had not been particularly close on Voyager, but with all the crew members drifting apart to do a myriad of things it was becoming increasingly rare that he had a chance to speak with his former crew mates. So it was nice to talk to someone he'd known before coming to the Alpha Quadrant. Federation space was home to so many members of Voyager's crew, but for Icheb Voyager was what he thought of when he thought of home.
As the three of them walked through the halls Icheb noticed that most of the cadets they passed stared at them. He tried to think of why, but nothing came to mind. Perhaps Ben could explain it to him later. His roommate was much more knowledgeable when it came to social interactions and human behavior.
They walked for approximately ten minutes before they arrived at a small cafe, which had a sign that advertised authentic American food, and sat down at an outdoor table. Commander Barclay got the conversation started again by asking how Admiral Janeway was doing and how she liked being an admiral instead of a captain while they waited to order their food.