MATERNAL INSTINCTS

Anyone who values their own goals over The Safety of Their Children is Irresponsible.

Trust Your Maternal Instincts, Seven.
They Worked Before.

“There are three things to remember about being a Starship Captain:

• Keep your shirt tucked in, 

• Go down with The Ship, and 

• Never abandon a member of your crew.

KATHRYN JANEWAY

 SEVEN: 
My feelings are irrelevant. 

JANEWAY: 
Are they? 
Would you like me to tell him?


SEVEN: 
It's my responsibility.... 
....but I am uncertain how to proceed.


JANEWAY: 
Well, you've already helped him make one difficult transition. 
How did you do that?


SEVEN: 
By giving him the benefit of my own experiences. 
Encouraging him to be resilient in the face of obstacles. 

JANEWAY: 
[smiles]
Sounds like a good strategy.






JANEWAY: 
Your attitude is making a difficult situation worse.


SEVEN: 
I was simply attempting to ensure Icheb's well-being.


JANEWAY: 
By insulting his parents?


SEVEN: 
Those issues needed to be discussed.

JANEWAY: 
You could have done it with a little more tact.


SEVEN: 
Perhaps, but that doesn't alter the fact that 
Those individuals may not be suitable guardians.


JANEWAY: 
Those individuals are his mother and father.


SEVEN: 
Which is no guarantee that they'll be able to care for him. 
He's far more likely to flourish if he remains on Voyager.

JANEWAY: 
That's not an option, Seven.


SEVEN: 
Are you ordering him off The Ship?


JANEWAY:
That's not what I said.


SEVEN: 
So that he can be assimilated again?


JANEWAY: 
What makes you so sure that's going to happen?


SEVEN: 
They shouldn't remain on That Planet.


JANEWAY: 
It's their home.


SEVEN: 
It's not worth protecting.


JANEWAY: 
Who are you to decide that? 

SEVEN: 
Anyone who values their own goals over the safety of their children is irresponsible.


JANEWAY: 
Are we talking about Icheb's parents, or yours?

SEVEN: 
Both.

JANEWAY: 
It's not like you to admit to something like that.

SEVEN: 
It would be naive for me to claim objectivity in this case. 
But I'm not prepared to return Icheb to parents who may be as careless as my own.


JANEWAY: 
I know what it's like to feel protective towards someone you've helped through a difficult period, but Icheb is an individual now. 
You have to give him a chance to form his own opinions.

SEVEN: 
If I do, and he decides to remain on Voyager?


JANEWAY: 
Then it'll be my problem.

[Astrometrics lab]

SEVEN:

I thought you were studying spatial harmonics.

ICHEB:

My parents suggested I might have an aptitude for genetics as well.

SEVEN:

I see. 
What have you learned?

ICHEB:

This is the genome of a typical Brunali male and this is my DNA.

They're nearly identical, but do you notice the differences in the third, thirteenth and seventeenth chromosomes?

SEVEN:

Yes.

ICHEB:

My parents made microgenetic alterations so I would produce the pathogen.

Quite ingenious.

SEVEN:

It's also barbaric.

ICHEB:

They were trying to defend themselves, their way of life.

Preserve their species.

SEVEN:

I know how difficult it is to acknowledge your parents' faults, but what they did was wrong.

You don't have to forgive them.

ICHEB:

Do you think they will ever forgive me?

SEVEN:

For what?

ICHEB:

I could have destroyed that Sphere. 
I failed them.

SEVEN:

You would have been reassimilated.

ICHEB:

I know, but -

SEVEN:

But what?

ICHEB:

Maybe it was My Destiny.

SEVEN:

Maybe.

In The Future you may choose to fight the Borg, 
but you'll do it in your own way.

You're an individual, and you have The Right to determine your own destiny.

It's time to regenerate.

ICHEB:

And if I prefer to continue studying?

SEVEN:

....
It's your decision.