198Stardate 57547.1 Personal Log Entry, Ensign Icheb Hansen
Yesterday I was Fourth Year Cadet Icheb Hansen. Today I am a commissioned officer in Starfleet, bearing the rank of ensign. After my post-Academy leave is over, I will report to the USS Hawking, a science vessel which will travel through Fluidic Space to reach an area of the Beta Quadrant that Federation vessels have yet to penetrate. Our ship will be part of an Alliance task force consisting of a bioship, two former Borg spheres, and three Starfleet vessels. We are to accumulate data about several astronomical phenomenon which have not previously been investigated or described by the Federation. In addition, we will be searching for any remnant populations - known as BIS, or Borg Incursion Survivors, in current day Starfleet parlance - which require supports from the Alliance in order to survive.
I'm excited, but nervous, too. Captain Radgen said he was pleased when he heard the valedictorian of the graduating class of 2380 had been assigned to the Hawking. I certainly have lots of experience in space working under Starfleet regulations. I'm no longer an adolescent rescued from the Borg, nor am I an Academy cadet. I will be second in command of the Astrometrics lab of the Hawking. It's going to be real now.
This afternoon, when I was sitting on the platform waiting to give my valedictory address, I couldn't help but think of that other Icheb. He'd never delivered his speech because he never attended the Academy in person. He'd graduated while still traveling on his Voyager and died only a few years later, sacrificing himself to protect his crew from the Borg Collective. I'm not him. I don't know if I'm fated to die on this first assignment. I don't really believe that will be my destiny. I suspect I've fulfilled more than one "Icheb destiny" in my life already; but I'm prepared to give up my life if I must. At the party my parents hosted for me, after the commencement ceremony was over, Commander Paris said, in that way he has of expressing himself that makes him such a good mentor for me, "That's a risk anyone who enters Starfleet must accept. It's part of the whole package." It could happen, of course, but since my life has already diverged from that other Icheb's in so many ways, I think it's unlikely.
I guess the one way I would like to be like him is for others to say I was an outstanding officer, as his Admiral Janeway said of him. I'd be proud to serve under any Admiral Kathryn Janeway there is, in any timeline, even with her "flaws and all." She insisted she had many when I mentioned this to her at my party. She does have flaws, of course. Everyone does. One reason the Borg Collective disintegrated was because the Borg Queen never could accept that perfection was unattainable. And I'm glad, because I know I'm not perfect either. Our flaws are part of what we are. They make us unique, just as much as our noble qualities do.
My speech was pretty typical of the breed, I suppose. I tried to keep it from being boring, but I know I dragged out the usual exhortations. "Use all you learned at the Academy to make life better for everyone in the Federation," etc. I thanked my family, which is also very traditional, but that's when my speech became, well, mine. I said my family had been formed through adoption rather than birth; our ties came about not by chance but by the choices we made and the love that helped us make them. We all once were enslaved by the Borg Collective. Though we're now individuals and citizens of the Federation, we're still in a collective, but of the type Seven described to me years ago when she said she was part of the "Voyager Collective." Working together to achieve prosperity and a peaceful life is our right as well as our duty. Whether it's within the unit of family or as part of the greater society of the Federation, we'e better together than we are apart. When we remember that, we're stronger than our enemies.
I thanked all of those with whom I served on Voyager, who first offered sanctuary, then friendship, and finally membership into their starship family. I thanked my fellow cadets and teachers at the Academy, Starfleet, and indeed, the Federation as a whole, for accepting a native of the Delta Quadrant and former Borg into the ranks of Starfleet officers.
I ended it by saying, "It's time for every member of the Class of 2380 to journey out into space, searching out strange new worlds and civilizations, to boldly go where no one else has ever gone before. It's our destiny."
My friends and family all said it was a good speech. Of course, they were going to say that even if my speech was terrible, because they love me. I think it was a little wordy, but I've delivered it; it's over and done with; and I received enough polite applause to believe it wasn't a total disaster.
I was able to relax when Verit followed me and gave her speech as class Salutatorian. While listening to her, I looked out over the audience, searching through the ranks of undergraduate cadets, until I found Naomi Wildman. She's not a little girl anymore. She's beautiful. I don't know if we'll ever become attached in the way our counterparts were in that other timeline. Since life in Starfleet can be dangerous, death could part us, too, if we should become a couple. Naomi doesn't know about that eradicated history, and I don't plan on ever telling her. It will all be different now, just as my family's life differs from that other Seven of Nine's.
Verit's speech was almost finished when I noticed another familiar figure, sitting several rows behind Naomi's class. He was dressed in a Starfleet commander's uniform (naturally), although he's nowhere near the right age for that. Obviously, Quinton couldn't bear to miss my graduation. I had to keep myself from snorting when I caught sight of him. I must admit, my experiences with the Q contributed to my education. I was happy to see him there today.
After the ceremony, Verit and I went to meet our loved ones. It wasn't a surprise to see my family there, of course, but having Torin present was wonderful. He arrived from the Gamma Quadrant just two days ago. When he walked into our suite, Verit couldn't maintain her Vulcan façade, her eyes were sparkling so. I'm happy for them, and for Farys and Austin, too. We all promised to stay in touch. The vagaries of Starfleet assignments will control that more than we'd like, I suspect.
Both Boothbys were there. The ambassador was a special guest of the Academy superintendent, I understand; but the gardener doesn't always bother to show up at commencements. This time he told me he had to attend, because I was "one of the good ones." Admiral Janeway and Captain Chakotay attended the ceremony, too. Once I'd spent a little time receiving congratulations from my family, I found them so I could salute them. Admiral Janeway said to me, "At ease, Ensign. You might sprain something." From the way she looked at Tom and Harry, who were standing nearby and snorting with laughter, I knew I'd like to hear their story about that. Back at the house, where we were having a "small celebration" courtesy of my parents, Harry told me that's what Captain Janeway said to him when he snapped to attention a little too stiffly, the first time he reported to her on Voyager. I didn't think I was standing that stiffly, but considering how excited I was by the entire event, I guess I'm not the best judge of that.
I had a great time with my family and friends at my graduation party, which was a picnic our back yard at our house near the Academy. Towards the end of the evening, Tom proposed a toast. I expected a rather long, anecdote-filled speech, full of his usual witty remarks, but all he said was, "To the journey." He'd told me once that that's what they'd said on Voyager, when they were deciding whether or not to go through the Hub. This time it was for my journey - and maybe for Mezoti's, too. She's decided she will apply to enter the Academy, too. She'll do great, because she always does, whenever she decides to do something.
It looks like both of us will live our lives in space. That's her destiny, as it is mine.
I've already fulfilled my destiny in ways, of course. The "gift" my parents gave me, which should have been the curse that ended my life, became the means by which the galaxy was freed, for the foreseeable future (and hopefully, forever) from the threat of the Borg Collective. Because she wanted acceptance from a family, Mezoti made the choice to leave Seven and me that she later bitterly regretted. Although it once seemed she'd never live with us again, she's here with us now. By making that choice to leave, however, she was in a position to help the damaged Borg who came to the planet where she was, who needed her intelligence and compassion to survive. Both of us know what it's like to be rejected by people who should care for you, but strangely enough, thanks to the Borg, we were destined to be love and be loved as members of the same family.
And that's the best destiny of all.
=/\=
The End
Afterward/Notes
I really loved the concept of the "Borglets" when they were introduced in the ST:Voyager episode "Collective." The ones who charmed me the most were Icheb and Mezoti. I was extremely miffed when Mezoti left Voyager in "Imperfection." While the twins' leaving didn't seem that much of a loss, considering how little they were given to do, Marley McClean was a breath of fresh air whenever we saw her on screen. And Mezoti had said she never wanted to leave Voyager during the events of "Child's Play." Why did she decide to leave? Why did the producers let her go? I wrote "I, Mezoti" to try to understand it, but it still seemed wrong for her to be separated from Seven and Icheb forever.
Manu Intiraymi's portrayal of Icheb was quite subtle, whenever we got the chance to actually see him act it out. While he was a major player in "Imperfection" and "Q2," the only time he appears in "Endgame" is when Icheb beat Tim Russ' Tuvok in the Kal-toh match, showing that the Vulcan officer wasn't well before subsequent events explained what was happening to him. When I wrote a long-planned project depicting Tom Paris' view of Voyager's, which included events that "happened" during the year following the ship's return, Icheb showed up quite often. I decided I'd write the part of the journey Icheb experienced from his point of view, portraying his life from the time he first awoke on the Borg cube until his graduation from the Academy. Most of the events in "Chief Helmsman of Voyager: The Personal Logs of Thomas Paris" would serve as the template for Icheb's story.
It didn't take long for me to realize how massive an undertaking this would turn out to be. There was a natural breaking point, however, right after Mezoti and the twins leave Voyager. When Icheb donates his cortical node to save Seven's life in "Imperfection," I found "Icheb" could end there. But I still wanted to show how he adjusted to life in the Alpha Quadrant. I also wanted to tell Mezoti's story in greater detail. Once she was safe on a planet, did she have regrets? Or did she finally "adapt" to life with the Wysanti?
"Icheb" was posted as one story, with "Destiny" serving as its sequel. They're really Book One and Book Two of the same work. I've followed the series canon as closely as I could, but with a few deviations (usually inadvertently, because of lapses in memory). I've ignored the follow-up books because they're not canon to me. I've also interpolated characters and events from my earlier fanfiction writings when they don't clash too badly with what we saw on the screen.
In writing this tale, I came to terms with Mezoti's leaving Voyager. Much as I hated for it to happen, her departure was necessary for the plot of "Imperfection" to work. When Icheb disconnected his node to force Seven to accept it, their lives were very much in danger. I'm sure the producers couldn't deal with the "what ifs" that would happen with Mezoti if Seven and Icheb both had died and she'd remained on board. I don't think they had enough time in one episode to explore the issue as fully as it deserved.
All of the seventh season episodes are addressed between "Icheb" and "Destiny," but a few only warrant a brief mention. Others were so critical to the development of the character, I had to go into considerable detail, whether Icheb appeared in the episode or not. I needed to tell what happened to him even though we didn't see him on Quarra. His memories must have been distorted like the rest of the crew's. And, while it was clear to me where Admiral Janeway obtained the means to destroy the Borg Queen in "Endgame," I wanted to remove all doubt by showing Icheb developing the weapon. In some ways, it's better for me they didn't show what happened to everyone after "Endgame" ended. I had more freedom to give the characters the outcomes I preferred.
My imagination couldn't have come up with a story like this without the work of the series producers and episode story and scriptwriters. I'd like to give credit to them below, because without them, there is no "Icheb/Destiny" story for me to share. I'm so thankful for the entire creative team of Star Trek: Voyager. I had the privilege of visiting the set, thanks to Tex, my Paris/Torres co-writer and friend, who won a tour in an auction at a convention in Pasadena at the time filming on the show was wrapping up. We spent over an hour visiting with make-up artist Michael Westmore alone. What he showed us was truly fascinating. I know there were dozens of other behind-the-scenes crew whose talents created the series I enjoyed so much (as well as Star Trek: The Next Generation, ST: Deep Space Nine, and ST: Enterprise). Thanks to every craft person who contributed to these shows.
While much of Icheb's and Mezoti's personal "histories" came from my imagination, the episodes presented in the seventh season provided most of the structure of Icheb's story. I filled in gaps (a.k.a. "plot holes"), explained away inconsistencies, and fleshed out what Icheb was doing when we didn't see him on screen. I referred back to some earlier season episodes occasionally, and I used actual dialog from them when Icheb was there to say it or heard it from another character. While additional writers were credited with their work in my notes for "Icheb," a list of names of everyone who contributed to every episode would be overwhelming. Let me acknowledge and thank all the writers for the entire series. I'm very grateful for their work. The writers/co-creators for the seventh season episodes, which form much of this story, are as follows:
"Critical Care": Story by Kenneth Biller & Robert Doherty, Teleplay by James Kahn.
"Inside Man": Written by Robert Doherty.
"Body and Soul": Teleplay by Eric Morris and Phyllis Strong & Mike Sussman, Story by Michael Taylor.
"Nightingale": Story by Robert Lederman & Dave Long, Teleplay by Andre Bormanis.
"Flesh and Blood, Part I": Story by Jack Monaco and Bryan Fuller & Raf Green, Teleplay by Bryan Fuller.
"Flesh and Blood, Part II": Story by Bryan Fuller & Raf Green, Teleplay by Raf Green & Kenneth Biller.
"Shattered": Teleplay by Michael Taylor, Story by Michael Sussman & Michael Taylor.
"Lineage": Written by James Kahn.
"Repentance": Teleplay by Robert Doherty, Story by Mike Sussman & Robert Doherty.
"Prophecy": Story by Larry Nemecek & J. Kelley Burke and Raf Green & Kenneth Biller, Teleplay by Mike Sussman & Phyllis Strong.
"The Void": Story by Raf Green & Kenneth Biller, Teleplay by Raf Green & James Kahn.
"Workforce, Parts I & II": Both written by Kenneth Biller & Bryan Fuller.
"Human Error": Story by Andre Bormanis & Kenneth Biller, Teleplay by Brannon Braga & Andre Bormanis.
"Q2": Teleplay by Robert Doherty, Story by Kenneth Biller.
"Author, Author": Story by Brannon Braga, Teleplay by Phyllis Strong & Mike Sussman.
"Friendship One": Written by Michael Taylor & Bryan Fuller.
"Homestead": Written by Raf Green.
"Renaissance Man": Teleplay by Phyllis Strong & Mike Sussman, Story by Andrew Shepard Price & Mark Gaberman.
"Endgame Parts I & II": Teleplays by Kenneth Biller & Robert Doherty, Stories by Rick Berman & Kenneth Biller & Brannon Braga.
(The "diplomat" comments by Quinton were prompted by the fact that Keegan de Lancie, who played Q Junior, was a Fulbright scholar who's worked for the U.S. Foreign service. I couldn't resist the allusion)
=/\=
I have to thank Jim Wright for most of the episodes' very detailed synopses, which appear on his Delta Blues website. They're often as complete as the scripts must have been. Several of the seventh season reviews remain "Under Construction," however, including "Workplace I & II" and "Flesh and Blood I & II." I had to spend a LOT of time recording the dialog and describing the action for myself for those episodes so that Icheb could learn about what happened and relay them in his own way. Jim, if you ever read this, you have my UNDYING gratitude for all of your complete reviews, since I know a little of what you had to go through each week when the show was airing!
Thanks to Tex, again, for providing details about the traditional Thanksgiving dinners served up by her Texas grandmother. I hope she'd approve of how I wove what you told me into this tale.
And, last, but certainly not least, I must add the essential disclaimer which must appear in any fanfiction work: The world of Star Trek: Voyager and all of Star Trek doesn't belong to me. Gene Roddenberry and his staff came up with the original concept over 50 years ago, and Paramount currently holds the copyright, shared with CBS. I make no claims of ownership of any of the characters or scenarios as presented by those I've just cited above, or the writers of any other seasons of the show and its predecessors and descendants. I won't make a dime from this epic, so there's no point in suing me. These characters haven't had a chance to stretch their wings and tell a new story on screen for 17 years. I'm sure they don't mind having fanfiction writers giving them a chance get out to have some fun every now and then.
I also must thank those who took the time to review this work as it was being written on fanfiction dot net. Their comments helped tremendously in the shaping of this story. Special thanks to: Six of Twelve (especially for suggesting Mezoti and Brax should become pen pals), tmtcltb, TLWtlw, Juddysbuddy, Beth6787, and TrekDr. Your encouragement kept me writing because I knew somebody out there was reading and liking what I wrote.
A billion thanks to all of you!
Jamelia116
July 2018