=/\=

They were silent during their walk to the turbolift. Once they entered it, however, she felt compelled to fill the silence. "How did the Borg and the 'Fluidians' become allies?"

"Don't you remember, Annika? I told you I wass going to approach them to ssee if we could join forcesss againsst the Queen. My sscout ship wass at the border of the rift between our sspace and theirss when we detected five of the Borg cubess approaching in attack formation. When they fired upon uss, my crew communicated ssubvocally. We all agreed we would rather die than be reassssimilated. We entered Fluidic sspace. The other vesselss did not follow."

The turbolift doors opened. When they reached the doorway to Cargo Bay Two, she came to a halt and smiled when he looked quizzically down at her. "We have arrived at what Icheb and the other children chose to call 'Borg Central.'" Axum stopped for a moment to take in the cavernous surroundings. "It is not much like . . . Unimatrix Zero," she said haltingly.

"With all the machinery and rowss of containerss, it lookss a true Borg kind of place," he said, smiling. "Iss thiss where you live?" She followed his gaze and saw he was looking at the row of regeneration cubicles standing on the platform near the computer work station.

"It is, when I'm on Voyager. Icheb and the children lived here, too, when they were with me. The crew often called it 'Borg Central,' too, although its formal designation is Cargo Bay Two. On Earth, I live in a house. It is . . . greener there. I have a garden." At the mention of her garden, Seven suddenly felt awkward.

Axum showed no sign he'd noticed. "Your sson livess here, too?"

"He did at one time. So many of his implants have been removed, he requires only short periods of regeneration. He has been assigned regular crew quarters."

"Where are the other children?"

"We left them on a planet far from here, in the Delta Quadrant." Seven heard her voice tighten, reminding her of their purpose in coming here. "My tool belt is over by the platform. Please, follow me."

At her direction, he sat down on the edge of the platform. She noted that he kept his legs stretched out before him. His spinal implants must make sitting uncomfortable for him, too. As she fetched her tool belt and selected the appropriate instrument, she said, "You were telling me how the Borg Resistance became allies of the Fluidians."

"Yesss. They patrolled their sside of the rift ass well. We ssent them a message. You told Laura about the Species 8472 . . . Fluidian space station . . . " As the hissing in his voice disappeared, he stopped and smiled up at her.

"Please, continue. The adjustment is a simple one, but I want to make certain I've completed the procedure."

"Yes . . . Well, Laura told us about Captain Janeway's meeting on the space station with Species 8472, who looked like people the captain and her crew knew on Earth. I thought they must understand the Federation standard language. I sent them a message that said, 'Captain Janeway of Voyager told us of Boothby and Archer. We are not Borg now. Help us.' They didn't fire on us, but they bracketed our position. We didn't dare move, in case it would be interpreted as an aggressive action. Our scout ship held that position for four days, until we received a message from them that said, 'Follow.' One of their bioships pulled out of formation, and we traveled behind it for many days. Finally, we approached another bioship - a huge one. My scout ship fit inside, in what I assume was a docking port of some kind. Maybe they built it just for us. Bioships can grow new structures whenever they're needed, you know.

"I was directed to a corridor leading into the interior that was filled with air. I followed it until I reached a chamber that looked like Voyager's conference room. A woman sat at the table with a man who looked like a Vulcan. It was Valerie Archer and Kirin. You'll meet him at another of the meetings. They questioned me extensively about how I knew Captain Janeway, why other Borg ships were attacking us, and all about my personal history as a Borg. I answered their questions as completely as I could. Archer made me describe Janeway to her, so I thought she must have met the captain. Finally, she seemed satisfied and told me one of their leaders was coming. We remained in their bioship until he arrived. It was Boothby. He agreed to help us find other Borg Resistance ships. He already knew the Borg were fighting with each other, but until my ship came to them, none of their species had any idea about what it was all about.

"That was the start. We met up with Korok and others from the Resistance, and we fought the Queen's ships. When the bioships attacked, even the big tactical cubes retreated. Without the Fluidians' help, I don't know how long the Resistance would have lasted. In one battle, my scout ship was so severely damaged, our entire crew transferred to the sphere I'm on now. After a while, I thought we might be gaining ground against the Queen's forces. Then suddenly, in the middle of a battle pitting one cube against five of our vessels, the cube blew up. We were surprised, because we didn't believe any of our weapons had pierced their shields. When we reviewed our image files, we saw the cube had self-destructed. We didn't know why.

"After that, we couldn't find any more intact Borg vessels to attack. The only ones left were those that had been taken over by the Resistance."

"How did you take over your scout ship?"

"As all of our vessels were taken. The Unimatrix Zero drones on board destroyed the Central Plexus, cutting off contact with the Queen. Although our fellow Borg became disoriented, we were able to tell them what had happened through subvocal communication. They believed us, especially after they realized they were individuals again."

"I cannot believe it was an easy adjustment. It was very difficult for me when I was disconnected from the Collective."

"But you were alone on this ship then, were you not? A few drones who had been Borg for a very long time did have trouble with the change, but as a group, we helped each other adapt."

She still had many questions about all that happened; and she assumed he had much he wanted to learn about her, too; but then she became aware of him. She could sense the warmth emanating from his body, and there was a heady spiciness to his scent that was unlike any other humanoid's she'd detected before. It was not unpleasant, in fact, quite the opposite. She'd never perceived anything like it when they were in Unimatrix Zero.

He stood up then, and she wondered if he would leave her. Instead, he touched her arm lightly and said, "Annika, thank you. My voice . . . it's the way I always heard myself when I was in Unimatrix Zero. With you."

His touch was shocking. She hadn't realized just how ephemeral touch had been in their virtual reality world. Even that last time together, when they clung to each other so desperately, as Unimatrix Zero was disintegrating all around them, it hadn't felt like this. Here in the 'real,' touch was a far more powerful sense than it had ever been in the virtual world where they'd met.

They both caught their breath at the same time, gazed into each other's eyes, and smiled. It was if they were a Collective of two, sharing their thoughts and emotions. He wrapped his arms around her, the way he had that last time in Unimatrix Zero. They kissed. And kissed. And kissed. Seven finally took a step back. He grabbed her by the arm, the one still threaded with Borg circuitry. That circuitry, which usually protected her from surges of electromagnetic forces, was powerless to prevent the excitation of the nervous system below her skin wherever he touched her.

She smiled. "I can feel hormones racing through my body now, Axum, just from your touch."

"Hormones? Is that what I'm feeling?" The color of his skin seemed to visibly pale. "They're very powerful. They're making me feel . . . very . . . lightheaded."

And then she remembered. "Axum! Do you still have an emotional inhibitor chip in your cortical node?"

"My what?" he mumbled.

"It causes the brain of a drone to shut down if it becomes overstimulated by emotions."

"I thought it was . . . because I was so . . . close to you. I never thought . . . I would be. I've never been . . . so happy . . . to be mistaken . . .about something . . . in my entire . . ."

He collapsed into her arms. She managed to keep him from falling to the floor by easing him back onto the platform. She knew she'd never be able to hold him if he were standing up while she activated her combadge.

"Sickbay! Emergency beam-out required from Cargo Bay Two!"

=/\=

"You may relax now, Seven. Annika. Whatever you prefer to call yourself these days. The offending emotional inhibitor chip has been removed. When your friend Mr. Axum awakens, he will be free to experience the full gamut of emotions, from passionate love to murderous rage. I would hope the latter isn't part of his natural psyche, but one never really knows until one is free to enjoy the benefits of true individuality." The Doctor sniffed audibly as he put away his surgical instruments.

Seven hid her amusement. She could tell his attitude originated from another emotion: jealousy. She decided to ask B'Elanna how he became so well versed in human behaviors. While Seven had often performed diagnostics on the Doctor when B'Elanna was not available to complete them, she'd never asked the chief engineer about the EMH program's evolution into the sentient photonic being he now proudly declared himself to be. The process had begun during his first years in the Delta Quadrant, long before she arrived on Voyager.

To the Doctor, however, she only said, "I believe the personality he exhibited in Unimatrix Zero will be the one we shall see when he wakes up. He was most gentle there. I'm sure causing the death of another being is beyond the scope of his basic nature."

"I should think he murdered many individuals when he was Borg," the Doctor responded.

Her sad whisper was just barely audible to the EMH program's extremely sensitive audio subroutine. "So did I, Doctor. So did I."

The EMH suddenly recalled a time when his own program's functioning had been severely compromised, when he himself had become a murderer. He had the grace to be ashamed of his comment. To cover his discomfiture, the Doctor waved his tricorder in Seven's direction and jovially remarked, "Ah, I see your pupils are dilated to a greater degree than can be explained by the level of light in this Sickbay alone."

She smiled at him. "I cannot deny it. I have been aware of the phenomenon ever since he walked onto the bridge for the meeting."

Before the Doctor could formulate a reply, Icheb entered Sickbay. He looked very worried as he asked, "How is Axum doing? I heard he suffered a medical crisis in Cargo Bay Two. Were there complications when you tried to fix his subvocal processor?"

Seven assured him, "He is on the mend. His crisis was due to a malfunction . . . rather, it was due to a properly functioning emotional inhibitor chip. The Doctor was able to remove it without causing any damage to Axum's cortical node."

"Thank you, Doctor," Icheb said, grinning somewhat more expansively than the Doctor thought was warranted in this situation. Of course, the cadet knew the purpose of the emotional inhibitor chip, not to mention what the removal of one implied.

"If you're planning to remain here to supervise our patient's progress, Seven. I'll adjourn to my office and update my medical log concerning my treatment of Mr. Axum. If you detect any changes in him at all, please alert me."

"I will, Doctor," Seven said softly, and turned back to gaze at the man lying on the biobed.

Icheb followed the Doctor into his office. "Thank you for helping Axum, Doctor. My mother would be extremely upset to lose him now. They've just found each other again. Mezoti told me it was very difficult for her when she thought they'd never meet."

Gruffly, he said, "You're quite welcome, Cadet." He peeked out of his office doorway and observed the two former Borg in the surgical bay. "He isn't much to look at, is he? I mean . . . right now," the EMH hastened to add, cognizant of the fact that his companion might take offense to his deprecating comment. "A little plastic surgery would seem to be in order. I should be able to regrow his hair over those bald patches on his skull, where he had implants removed. That would improve his appearance a great deal. Once he's regained consciousness, I'll ask him if he would like me to perform any other procedures as well. Judging from some other former Borg that I've had the opportunity to treat, I'm sure there are a multitude of unnecessary implants that should be removed from his body."

The Doctor glanced back at Icheb, who graced him with an exaggerated nod of the head. Icheb was well aware that he himself was one of those "former Borg" the Doctor had treated. "I'm sure he'd be very grateful if you could provide those services for him, Doctor," Icheb said, trying to hide his smile. "I believe the medical drones on his sphere were forced to deal with life and death matters after they were severed from the Collective. Restoring a drone's physical appearance was not a high priority."

"I suppose not." The Doctor sighed. Icheb had observed that same expression of longing on the EMH's face many times, when Icheb caught him gazing at his mother before her relationship with Chakotay, as well as after it ended. If he still cherished hopes of winning his mother for himself, Axum's entrance into the picture must be a fatal blow.

Icheb turned several possible comments over in his mind before hitting upon the one that appeared most appropriate for the occasion. "Doctor, when Annika Hansen met Axum in Unimatrix Zero, physical attraction played little part in the equation. When they fell in love, it was because, in the words of the immortal Bard of Avon, they shared a 'marriage of true minds.' All they really had there was their minds."

The Doctor sighed. He could recognize a painful truth when he heard it; a truth that cut more deeply than the sharpest rapier wielded by any tragic hero. His own body was a holographic facsimile of his creator's appearance. He'd always understood that Seven of Nine, the former and present Annika Hansen, did not care about physical appearances. That was something that had always caused him to hope for something more than the friendship they'd long shared. He could see the tender way the object of his affections gazed at the patient on the biobed, a man who, in his natural state as an individual, was surely as gentle a young man as Seven had said he was. The Doctor, despite his frequent flights of fancy, was a realist. Hope died.

=/\=

When Axum began to stir, Annika stood up and hovered over him, glancing frequently at the readings on the monitor near his biobed. She was gratified to see his brainwaves assume the pattern consistent with awakening. His eyes opened. For a few seconds, she read confusion in them as he oriented himself to this unfamiliar location. He'd lost consciousness in Cargo Bay Two. He'd never been in Voyager's Sickbay before.

"It's all right, Axum. I'm here"

His eyes focused on her face. Slowly, he began to smile. "Annika. Am I in Heaven?"

She remembered something he'd once told her: that she'd asked the very same question when she'd first arrived in Unimatrix Zero. But there, waking up meant leaving the sanctuary behind, to become again the mindless drone of the Collective.

Waking up had a whole new meaning for them now. She bent down and kissed him before she answered him.

"This isn't Heaven, Axum. But now that you're here, it's close enough."

=/\=

End

=/\=

---

Paramount/CBS/whoever-they're-affiliated-with-at-the-moment owns Star Trek and all its permutations since Gene Roddenberry first conceived of "Wagon Train in Space." I make no claims of ownership of the franchise, characters, or the episodes. I just like to dwell in that world every now and then.

I would be remiss if I did not credit all of the writers of the episodes of Star Trek: Voyager. I referenced many of the episodes from the beginning of Season 4 up to the series finale, "Endgame." I must particularly acknowledge the writers who wrote the episodes upon which this story was primarily based, since I often quoted extensively from their scripts. Thanks, writers! Really couldn't have done it without you.

· Scorpion I & II: written by Brannon Braga and Joe Menosky

· The Raven: written by Bryan Fuller, story by Bryan Fuller and Harry Doc Kloor

· In the Flesh: written by Nick Sagan

· Infinite Regress: teleplay by Robert J. Doherty, story by Robert J. Doherty and Jimmy Diggs

· Dark Frontier I& II: written by Brannon Braga and Joe Menosky

· Someone to Watch Over Me: teleplay by Michael Taylor, story by Brannon Braga

· Survival Instinct: written by Ronald D. Moore

· Collective: teleplay by Michael Taylor, story by Andrew Shepard Price and Mark Gaberman

· Unimatrix Zero I: teleplay by Brannon Braga and Joe Menosky, story by Mike Sussman

· Unimatrix Zero II: teleplay by Brannon Braga and Joe Menosky, story by Mike Sussman and Brannon Braga

· Imperfection: teleplay by Carleton Eastlake and Robert Doherty, story by Andre Bormanis