Star Trek Voyager: Consequences

Star Trek Voyager: Consequences 2. Loyalties

“Miss Hansen…” The Starfleet Intelligence officer again tried to draw out his subject, his tone silky smooth but Seven could hear the ruthless steel behind that thin veil.

“Seven.” She corrected. “As I told you in our previous meetings Commander that is my preferred designation.”

The silver haired Commodore sitting in shadow at the other side of the room, allowed his lips to twitch upwards, he always enjoyed Intelligence men getting their ego bubbles burst, “Go ahead Billings, six fully funded debriefings and you don’t know her name?”

Billings flushed. “Yes, sir.” He glowered viciously at Seven before snatching up a pad and slamming it down on the table in front of her so violently that she couldn’t suppress a jump. “Read that and tell me what it is.” He ordered.

Seven fought the instinctive urge to refuse and lifted the pad, scan reading it quickly. A sigh of nervous foreboding shook her chest as she placed the pad back down. “It is Voyager’s plan to destroy the transwarp hub.” She coolly confirmed what she knew he already knew.

Billings gave her a crooked smile. “That it is, now as the main designer and the person who called it off…tell me why you suddenly couldn’t go through with it.”

“It wouldn’t have worked.” She replied quietly, though her voice had a guilty quaver in it which a perceptive Billings picked up on.

“Come now, you know that’s not true, you wouldn’t have submitted this to Janeway if you weren’t sure it would collapse the hub. Our scientists, admittedly much less gifted than you, have told us it almost certainly would have worked, only a 3.5% probability of failure. Why did you change your mind? Isn’t the opportunity to rid the galaxy of the Borg’s main artery worth a 3.5% risk?”

Seven bristled. “Yes, of course! I would be worth much greater levels of risk.”

“Then why did you back out?” He almost yelled, so eager was he to get to the point.

Seven bit her lip, she had been dreading this question because unlike her many other justifications this one was based only on emotion, not reason, and she doubted these two men believed in her emotional capabilities, she wasn’t sure if anyone did anymore or ever had. “I…” To say that I did it because the Captain told me of Chakotay’s death and my own would be laughable to them, selfish. To say that the Admiral blackmailed me… She stopped mid thought, not liking the disloyal turn her mind was taking. The Admiral had every right to do all she could to save her husband, I most likely would have done the same… “The transwarp conduit was Voyager’s only immediate route home, collapsing the hub would have endangered the ship and destroyed the route to the Alpha Quadrant. We…the crew decided to return home…” Her voice hardened and she looked defiantly up at Billings, “As is their right after seven years don’t you think? To put themselves first just once?”

“You don’t seem to include yourself in that statement, Earth, the Federation, that isn’t home for you. The Collective is. You saved the only home you’ve known!”

Seven’s eyes flashed. “The Collective isn’t a home, it is a mental cage! I didn’t exist, a single drone among billions and that drone did terrible things…” She turned away from his icy eyes and focused on the Commodore. “My life was stolen, as is every assimilated person, my only wish is to reclaim enough of it to life peacefully and productively.”

Billings snorted in contempt but the Commodore intervened, “Leave us please Commander.”

“But sir, we know she’s a security risk…” Billings began angrily but his senior officer’s glare sent him packing.