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Star Date 54972
"Mezoti, there is a message for you at our communication console," Arebi said, when Mezoti came home from school that day.
"From Voyager?" When Mezoti said this, her whole demeanor brightened. Almost immediately, it dulled. From the way Arebi's face fell, she knew the message could not have anything to do with Voyager.
Mezoti forced herself to smile again as Arebi replied, "I'm afraid it isn't. Do you know of a Norvalen trader named Masseni?"
"I've never heard of him."
"Well, he's the one who is contacting you. Since you say you don't know him, I'd like to stand next to you as you review this communication. I want to make sure no harm will come to you from this stranger."
"Thank you, Arebi. I would like Mazani to come in, too. If there is bad news in the message, I'd like you both to be here while I listen to it."
Arebi called Mazani in, supposedly from her art studio. Mezoti thought she must have been standing in the hallway, since she arrived so quickly. As Arebi bent over to retrieve the message, Mezoti told herself to be Borg again, and not cry if this message was a sad one.
She was surprised when the message was a visual recording, not simply words on the screen. Even better, there were two faces in view, and one of them was Neelix!
"Hello, Mezoti," the Talaxian said. "I hope this message finds you, Azan, and Rebi well, and your parents Arebi and Mazani, too! This fellow standing next to me is Masseni. He travels through the sectors between Wysanti and here, trading with people in many systems. He told me he passes by your planet every few months, so he's agreed to help us exchange messages whenever he is near you and where I am now, on Talax II.
"You and the twins are not the only ones who've decided to leave Voyager and remain in the Delta Quadrant to live. A short time ago, on First Contact Day, as a matter of fact, Commander Chakotay discovered a group of Talaxian colonists who live inside an asteroid. You know, I've always missed my family, Mezoti, so when I met my wonderful Dexa and her son Brax, I decided to stay here with them. Let me call them over so I can introduce you to them."
Two other beings came into view. She had no memories of a non-Borg Talaxian female, so it was fascinating to see one. Mezoti thought Dexa was very pretty. Her son Brax looked like he was close to Mezoti in age. When Neelix introduced him, Brax waved at her and said, "Hi, Mezoti! Nice to meet you!" Mezoti found herself starting to wave back, but then she stopped and glanced up at Mazani. How embarrassing! A Borg, saying hello to an image on a screen when the message had been recorded weeks, maybe even months ago! She heard Arebi chuckling behind her, and then she felt his hand squeezing her shoulder.
The message went on for several more minutes. Neelix had recorded some visuals of the interior of the asteroid where the Talaxians lived. Dexa gave her a "tour" of their family quarters, too, which were very comfortably furnished. From the way all three of them acted towards one another, Mezoti thought Neelix must be very happy.
"Masseni has promised to deliver any messages you want to send to me, Mezoti. Hearing from you would make me very happy, and I can think of some people on Voyager who would love to hear from you, too. Voyager can still maintain contact with me here. Seven and I sometimes play Kadis-kot during our communication window. So, if you want to send a message to Icheb and Seven through me, you can, and I'll make sure it gets to them. I miss you and everyone on Voyager, but I don't regret making this change in my life. Say hello to the twins. From what Icheb has told me about their favorite activities, I'm sure they're out somewhere playing sports right now. Mezoti, take care of yourself. I look forward to hearing from you soon."
When the message was over, Mezoti turned to Arebi. "Do you know where this asteroid is located? Would it be possible for us to visit them there?"
Before he had a chance to answer, another message came in. This time it was from the Norvalen trader, Masseni. :::Hello there, Miss Mezoti. I had a tag put on the message from Neelix so I would know when you viewed it. I'm in orbit over Wysanti right now. I'll be in your system for the next three of your days, and I'd be happy to pass your message on to Neelix if I receive it before I leave.:::
Hesitantly, Mezoti replied, "Is this a live two-way message, Mr. Masseni?"
:::Yes it is. And I'm just Masseni to you and your family. No need for fancy titles.:::
Arebi bent his head into the viewing area. "This is Arebi, Mezoti's foster father. If you plan to be in our system for a few days, you must come share a meal with us. We'd love to hear more of what you know about Neelix."
:::I accept! Neelix is quite a character. He's taken a leadership position in that asteroid colony, you know, and he's managed to smooth over difficulties with some miners who wanted to blow them up. Now they're in business together. I expect he and his lady friend will be getting married very soon and . . . well, I can tell you more when I see you.:::
"Tomorrow, then," Arebi said. "I will send you our coordinates. We look forward to meeting you."
:::As do I. Until tomorrow.:::
As soon as the screen went dark, Mezoti turned to Mazani and Arebi. "I have to start working on my message. I don't want to leave anything out. There's so much I want to tell Neelix!" Mezoti ran to her room to plan out what she was going to say.
The door to Mezoti's room was close to the main living area. With her enhanced hearing, Mezoti always knew what was said in there, even when people whispered, although she'd never mentioned this to Mazani or Arebi. Very soon after she left the room, she heard Mazani say, "Did we do the wrong thing by offering to adopt Mezoti? I wanted a daughter again; and she's wonderful; but she isn't very happy. I thought she would have adapted to life with us by now. You can see how alive she became, just by seeing the image of her friend Neelix, and by hearing his voice."
Arebi hesitated, then said, "We didn't make the mistake. I'm afraid she did, by agreeing to live with us."
Mezoti heard the faint squeak of the lounging chair. Mazani must have sat down next to her husband. "You're probably right. She's content here - I think - but to be truly happy, she must accept being of the Wysanti. Mezoti and our grandsons talk about how the Borg 'adapt,' but I'm afraid Mezoti may not be Borg enough to do that anymore. She clings to her memories of Voyager - to memories of her true family."
Mezoti heard a big sigh. "Yes, we're treasured friends, but nothing more. Seven and Icheb have her love. I don't think she understood the difference when she decided to stay."
Mezoti could hear the misery in Mazani's voice. "I care for her so very much. It's hard to realize she'll never see me as her mother. If only her people weren't so far away! They'll never be able to travel back to get her now, even if we could tell them they should come for her."
"Perhaps if she can maintain contact with Voyager through Neelix, her worries about Seven and Icheb will fade. Maybe she'll be more pleased with life here," Arebi offered.
"Do you think we could bring Mezoti for a visit to Neelix's asteroid?"
"No, I'm sorry to say. If it's taken Masseni months to travel from there, it must be far beyond where the Wysanti have ever traveled."
"That's unfortunate."
There was a pause in the couple's conversation, but they must still be sitting there together. Mezoti hadn't heard the lounging chair's tell-tale squeak from someone getting up. Eventually, she heard Arebi say, with a catch in his voice, "If the people from Voyager do come back for her someday, how will you feel about losing another daughter?"
"Devastated. But we've already learned one of the most important lessons any parent must learn. A time comes in any child's life when the parents must let her go, to live a life away from them. We must say goodbye to Mezoti someday. If Voyager comes back for her, it will simply happen much sooner than it does with most children. We're her foster parents. Her guardians. We never did legally adopt her. Perhaps that was fortunate."
"True. I don't believe she really wanted that close a tie with us."
"Don't mistake me, Arebi. She's been a great comfort. The boys became young men long before their time. I'm happy they live with us, but we aren't 'raising' them so much as providing a home for them with their own people. Mezoti is so bright, and she holds conversations with us in ways the boys never do. But she's not ours in the way our own daughter was. If and when Mezoti decides to leave us, I will cherish the time we had with her - but I will let her go. Above all, I want her to live a happy life. If leaving us is the way for her to achieve that, how can we stand in her way?"
"We cannot. You're right, my love. We'd have to let her go."
Mezoti sighed. What should she do? Should she remain silent, or should she let them know she'd overheard their conversation? It was meant to be a private one, just between the two of them, but she had heard. After considering the best action to take for a short time, she decided honesty was best. Slowly, she walked into the main living area. The couple was still sitting morosely on the couch, just where she thought they'd be.
It was best just to come out with it. "I'm sorry I'm not the daughter you thought you were getting when I accepted your offer to live with you."
Mazani stood up and stretched out her arms to enfold Mezoti. Arebi followed suit, putting his arms around both of them. "I'm sorry you heard, my dear," Arebi said softly. "I never knew your hearing was that good!"
Despite herself, Mezoti smiled. "Fortunately, Azan and Rebi forget most of the time, too. It's the only way I know what's going on with them most of the time." She decided not to mention the fact that she could also listen to them subvocally. "Don't be sorry. I'm glad I heard. I felt all warm inside when I realized you understand. You're right. I'm not as Borg as I used to be, or maybe even as much as I want to be, when it comes to you. If I were truly Borg, I could have adapted better to your family. But if I were still Borg, I wouldn't recognize how good you are to me. I'm very lucky to be here. I know that."
"Dear Mezoti, we don't wish you were still a Borg just so you could adapt to us!" Mazani smiled through her tears. "Life might be easier if people could just tell their hearts when to love someone and when to stop, but emotions don't work that way. We know Seven and Icheb have always had your heart."
"Ever since the doctor removed my emotional inhibitor chip, I've struggled to understand what I was feeling. Even before I left Voyager, I think I knew I should stay there, but I was afraid of the bad things that happen to people on ships. I should have trusted Icheb and Seven and all the crew to protect me. I'm sorry I didn't listen to myself when I had doubts. Icheb warned me I could never expect to see him again if I left. Maybe if I communicate with Neelix sometimes, and he has a way of communicating with Voyager, we'll be able to exchange messages. That might make me feel better about not actually being with them. Seven and Axum can't even send messages to one another, because he's so far away from her. He's at the other end of the Beta Quadrant."
"Your Neelix seems like a very nice person, from what we saw in the message. I hope this Masseni can help you keep in touch with him, and that way, with the Voyager people." Mazani wiped her eyes. "Well, if I'm going to serve a nice dinner to this Masseni tomorrow, I'd better research what the Norvalen like to eat." After giving Mezoti another big hug, Mazani hustled away. Mezoti was sure she was still crying.
Arebi gestured to Mezoti to sit down next to him on the lounge chair. After she did, rather awkwardly, Arebi smiled sadly. Looking down at his hands, which he was rubbing together, he said, "I think there's something else you want to say to us. Do you want me to call Mazani back in?"
"No, it's all right if I just talk to you about this for now. You're a pilot. You'll understand. My destiny has always been to live in space. I didn't understand that when so many things started to go wrong on Voyager. Now I do. I don't believe I will live on any planet for my entire life, but for as long as I'm here, I'm glad it will be with the two of you."
"We're happy to have you, my dear. Now, I think you should go back to your room and work on that message you want to send to Neelix. He'll be as happy to get one from you as you were to hear from him."
Before she left him to work out what she wanted to tell Neelix, Mezoti gave Arebi another hug, comforting herself as much as she hoped it would bring comfort to him. This had been a very difficult conversation, but a necessary one. It was better for the truth to be out in the open and recognized. Losing their daughter to the Borg was a tragedy Mezoti could never have comprehended while she was Borg. Now she did. Mazani and Arebi were such good people. Mezoti promised herself she would try to be the best daughter to them that she could be. Mezoti really did love them, in her own way. It simply wasn't as much as they deserved - not as much as she loved Seven and Icheb.
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