I do not own the characters. No profit made off this ritzy biosuit.

Rated T to M

POV Janeway

Misplaced Five:

Step Into The Spotlight

Minutes become hours as I sit on the cold floor. The tears dried awhile ago and now only crusted salt remains caked on my hot cheeks. My wrists are bound and sore from my pulling and tugging, trying desperately to free myself from the metal.

It is futile.

"Ha… resistance is," I mutter to the empty room. My throat hurts and I long for a drink of water. Mere human needs that the Borg can't be concerned with. Only yesterday, I was sitting in my quarters having dinner with Seven, and now, I've been Captain-napped.

"Seven, come get me," I softly plea to the floor, as if it will somehow open up and release me from my misery.

Closing my eyes, I picture blue skies the shade of Seven's eyes and imagine the two of us sitting beneath a tree, on a picnic in the holodeck, arguing over the nature of individuality. I'm not usually one to believe in the power of the psyche, but sitting on the hard floor, the realization that I might be left here to spend my days with the Queen, I think hard about Seven, imagine every moment we spent together, and hope some kind of telepathic message gets sent back to her. Rationally, I know its not likely to happen, but I have to hope or else I might give up.

The pulsing low-lights taunt me, tempting me to close my eyes and sleep. Perhaps that is the Queens intention, to get me relaxed then to do whatever she intends to do with me. Maybe she plans to assimilate me or probe my body.

I inhale deeply, fighting the exhaustion blanketing my body, and the panic rising within over my helplessness. It doesn't matter what she intends to do with me, only that I'm here and bound. I am at her mercy; she's a cat with a new toy mouse.

The scent of harsh metal mingles with the scent emanating from my body. I stink from the sweat that constantly drips from my pores and soaks into my uniform. I want nothing more than to shed my clothes and get the scratchy fabric off my skin, but with my hands bound, I am unable. Hopefully, the Queen is offended by my smell, a smile tugging my lips at the thought. Maybe if she becomes so offended by it, she'll send me home. Ha, not likely.

"Great. Now, I'm going nuts and talking to myself," I mutter to the dark walls of my little corner cell, sighing at the silence that follows my voice, and listening for any other noises that might indicate company is coming.

Soft footsteps clang on the metal, a slow easy rhythm, seemingly sauntering forward toward me.

Remaining still until the steps stop before me, I hold my breath and look up.

"Tell me Captain, do you miss Seven?" The Queen stands in front of me, her dark eyes intense as they glare down at me. "Now that you are down here all by yourself with nothing to occupy that calculating brain of yours. I am sure you must think of her. After all, you have just the darkness to keep you company along with your thoughts."

Struggling and then gasping, I eventually am standing, though it was a difficult task without the use of my hands, but I'm not about to have a conversation about Seven while sitting on my butt at my captors' feet. "I miss her as I miss my First Officer. She's just a crew member." Oh, who are you kidding Kathryn? Shut up!

"I think you are lying?" she says as she steps forward, grabbing my shoulders roughly, making me raise my eyes toward hers. Her eyes are dark pools of truth as they stare into mine. No doubt her Borg systems have read my body signs, and know how much I'm kidding myself, how much I'm lying.

Of course, I miss Seven. How could I not?

"If I'm lying then so are you. You've kidnapped me in the hopes that she is going to come after me, and you can't stand the fact that she will come after me, your Majesty. Whereas, she left you, never planning to return to your collective…She abandoned you."

"Enough," she growls, grabbing my uniform and yanking me up high and off my feet.

I smile at her as I look down into her angry eyes. The urge to kick her with my dangling feet is so strong, my foot starts to swing before I can stop it. But my muscles halt immediately at the look I receive, swirling deep within those dark uplifted eyes. "Do you really believe that you can persuade her to stay once she arrives to rescue me?" I laugh. "If you do, then you're a bigger fool than I first thought. Perhaps, the biggest fool."

The hand grabbing my shirt starts to shake ever so slightly. "I said, enough," a deep command, issued from electronically pathways that pass for her heart. "It is you, who is the fool. You believe she will come for you? That she cares for you?"

I stare down into her eyes, my mouth still and no longer smiling.

"She is Borg. We do not care for anyone," she says in a whisper.

"No, Seven is a Human. She is Annika Hansen. A human that you kidnapped and manipulated, grooming her to be your protégé. How foolish to think she would not discover her human traits, her individuality just by adding and subtracting a few organs, replacing the missing parts with computer systems. Artificial means of perfection when she was born perfect already." Fingers tighten and pull the wool tighter, bringing me close enough to feel her warm air cycling through her lungs.

I'm edging away at her wall, so I continue, "and maybe you realized the truth midway through assimilation, once you sliced and diced on her, you saw what you marred and now feel guilty over your actions-another sentient trait. You need to realize that Seven, that Annika is not Borg, not anymore… Nor will she ever be fully Borg again."

The hand clutching my uniform releases me, and I slump down onto the floor. I look up at her from my perch at her feet.

I've cracked through her resolve, so I smile and say, "now, who is lying? If you are jealous of me, jealous of what I helped her rediscover, her individuality, then you care for her. You are in love with her."

"Think what you will, inferior…human. I can offer her far more than you ever will. I hold the Galaxy in my…hands. It will be hers, and my gift to her. You see, she will come back to me. She has to."

I laugh as I look into her hooded eyes. "You might have to kill her first. Being an individual means making unencumbered decisions. It means fighting, being strong, and refusing to collapse under the pressure of the wills of others."

"Dead or Alive, she will be here soon. I know it. I've been watching your ship, and they are going to be here soon to save you. How will you feel Captain, watching your beloved die before your eyes? How do you think Seven will feel as she watches you take your last breath?"

"I am her Captain," I say, watching her every muscle twitch. I couldn't trust her not to kill me and then deliver my body to my crew and ship.

"And you love her. Do not lie Captain, your life signs give you away. Love is about sacrifice, is it not?"

I gasp at her words, a sinking feeling settling deep inside to rest against my thudding heart.

"The Captain always makes the greatest sacrifice," she smirks then backs away from me a few steps, but stays near enough to still hear me.

I say to have the last word, "if love is about sacrifice, then perhaps you should consider how much you are willing to sacrifice for Seven. As you'll quickly learn, gifts can't buy affections. They are only freely offered, and never able to be taken nor commanded."

I see liquid pooling in her eyes as we stare at each other. My neck aches and my eyes are growing weary and scratchy. In a soft voice, she says, "when your crew arrives, the truth will be revealed one way or another."

She pauses, then says, "I will have water brought to you. You are becoming dehydrated, I would not want you to die before I get to kill you. Good evening… Captain."She backs away, our eyes still locked until she turns and disappears from my sight.

"Dammit," I murmur to the empty space the Queen occupied. Crawling over to the nearest wall, I lean my warm forehead against the metal and sigh. "Way to go Captain."

AN: The Borg Queen is so sneaky. Better watch out Seven. O_O