Zimt couldn't believe that she had said those words loud. She practically sent the Commander to the slaughterhouse. She looked at Seven who was still staring at the tabletop. There was no sign of emotion on her face. This angered the young doctor. But she also tried to appear neutral and emotionless. It was just enough for her to cope with her own emotions and thoughts. She didn't want to have to deal with the Borg commander's problems either. And especially did not want the Starfleet to imprison her as an untrustworthy person.
However, there would be a high chance of this if she openly attacked her superiors and held them accountable for the genocide. So she didn't say anything, she just waited silently, with stiff facial features, to be able to leave. But she couldn't until someone gave her a permission. And that was still waited. The tense silence was finally broken by Admiral Janeway.
"Do you understand why joining the Collective is not a good idea?" she asked her, almost tenderly. It was like she was talking to her own daughter. "The Borg must be destroyed. Down to the last drone."
"We don't want to either, but there is no other choice. The species, or rather this form of existence, is very violent and causes too much suffering to live with." added the Admiral's husband, Chakotay.
Zimt had had enough, so she nodded. She seemed to agree. Meanwhile, self-blame gnawed at her soul for not doing anything against this deadly plan. She was also disgusted with the Janeway parents, although she was aware that making this decision for their daughter must have been incredibly difficult for them. But she was mostly angry with the Commander for even taking part in the war as a Borg to help slaughtering her own kind.
"Then I won't be a Borg," she said out loud, shrugging her shoulders.
Her voice was so colorless that even the Commander raised her head: she looked at Zim in disbelief. However, the bitterness in the young woman's eyes caught her eye. She didn't want to see the always so strong Doctor in this broken state.
"Dismissed, Ensign!" Captain Picard finally took pity on the young doctor. Zimt thanked him for the opportunity and immediately left the meeting room. She stormed out as if being chased by the Borg.
"You can leave too, Seven!" added the captain, seeing his deputy's worried look.
The Commander acknowledged the permission with a nod and also left the room without much haste. The remaining management looked after them grimly.
"Do you think we could convince her?" Captain Riker asked Admiral Janeway.
"I hope so," answered the Admiral not quite sincerely. "That's why I asked her to be included in the briefing."
"You know, my wife asked me too, for exactly the same reasons," the captain tried to smile.
"You have a lovely wife," Kathryn Janeway smiled back.
"She is kind and caring" nodded the captain. "However, you should be aware that neither your daughter nor your old subordinate can be protected from their own fate."
Will Riker looked hard at the Admiral. The woman's tortured look, the black circles under her eyes, her sunken face did not affect him. Neither is his own wife's request to try to spare the woman who suffered a lot. All of them have lost friends and family members to the Borg. The Admiral, for example, would sacrifice her own daughter. That's why they have to confront the Borg in their own territory. They must not lose more comrades, friends, and children because of them. Even if this fight involves innocent victims.
"But probably this inexperienced, naive little girl can be saved from this fate, at least!" Admiral Janeway finally stated. But somehow in a voice as if she didn't really trust it either.
Zimt ran so fast and frantically that Seven only caught up to her in front of her room.
"Zimt!" she called out, but the usually calm girl was now full of anger and bitterness.
"Leave me alone!" she yelled and opened the door to her room. Seven tried to go after her, but the doctor tried to stop her from doing so. She definitely didn't want to let Seven into her room. She wanted to be alone, but the Commander was determined not to leave her alone. Two strong wills collided, from which Zimt emerged victorious, and the door to the room closed in front of Seven. "Zimt, let me in!" the Borg commander demanded worriedly.
"Go away!" came the angry reply.
"I won't go! So let me in!"
However, the door remained closed. Zimt also turned off the doorbell, so the Commander had to knock on the cold composite door. It worked out great, the whole level resonated.
"Zimt! I can override the protective protocols if necessary, but I hope I don't have to do that!" Seven tried to threaten, but it didn't go anywhere. In the end, she tried the same tactics that Zimt used with Elle and Seven when she wanted to calm her down. "Please, I just want to talk to you! I do not want to hurt you. Let me in, please!" she asked her in the sweetest voice she could muster.
The door finally opened. Seven entered the dark room.
"Zimt" she said in a worried voice as she looked around and didn't see the girl inside.
The Commander assumed that Zimt had gone somewhere else on the ship, that's why she was able to enter the empty room. Now she was really angry with herself for not getting to know the young woman while she was helping her. If only she knew where his favorite places are on the ship! Then she would know where to look for her. Seven turned on the light and walked over to the console to use the computer to find the young doctor. She was about to touch the screen when he noticed Zimt.
She crouched by the door with her knees drawn up.
Seven walked up to him and held out her arm for a hug. She wanted to comfort the teary-eyed girl. As the young doctor had done to her so many times before. However, Seven couldn't. Her hands collided with a force field before she could reach Zimt.