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.

The Teller of Uncomfortable Truths.

"Part of Angel's trouble is that he refuses to listen to the person who most frequently Tells him The Truth in the course of this season : Spike, who reverts to his Buffy Seasons Two to Four status as 

The Trickster Teller of Uncomfortable Truths. "

Kes is certainly an Elf or a Pixie - 

a Trickster, to be sure, but an entirely too benign one.

She lacks Danger.

What you need instead, is...
A Dark Fairy

FEMALE CADET: 

Admiral? Some of us were talking 

before class and we were curious. 

How extensive was Seven of Nine's 

involvement with Unimatrix Zero?

JANEWAY: 

I'd, er, prefer not to discuss 

Seven of Nine.

FEMALE CADET: 

Yes, ma'am. Sorry.

[Cargo Bay two]

(Seven is regenerating. Janeway enters and turns off her alcove.)

SEVEN: 

Captain. 

JANEWAY: 

Step down, please. 

Seven, you disobeyed my direct orders, 

and as a result you condemned 

A Sentient Being to its Death. 

[ But she isn't part of the Command Stucture - neither were Kes and nor is Neelix. Her subordination to the onboard hierarchy is volitional and only The Captain can give her orders. And we know this - for example - because not Chakotay or Torres can tell Neelix what to do in his kitchen, except as directed to by The Captain, when acting with her authority.  ]

SEVEN: 

By doing so, I also diverted the Hirogen attack. 

An attack which would have destroyed us. 

JANEWAY: 

Maybe not. 

In any case, The Decision wasn't yours to make. 

[ It bloody well was if it could have killed her (or others), which it could. ]

SEVEN: 

The creature broke through the forcefield. 

I had no choice. 

JANEWAY: 

I didn't come here to debate your decision. 

I came here to inform you of the consequences. 

When you first came to Voyager, 

I decided to grant you the same liberties and freedoms 

of any crew member, 

because I wanted you to be 

A Part of This Family.

 

And I've been willing to accommodate 

your unique way of doing things, 

even when you rubbed somebody the wrong way 

or violated protocol. 

But this time, 

I can't accommodate you. 

From this point forward, 

you will no longer have access 

to any primary systems on this ship. 

Not without my direct authorisation. 

If you attempt to circumvent me, 

I'll throw you in the Brig. 

I still need your expertise 

in the Astrometrics lab if you're willing. 

If not, you can spend your time here 

in the Cargo Bay. 

Is that understood? 

SEVEN : 

Yes. 

(Janeway turns to leave.) 

SEVEN: 

It is puzzling. 

JANEWAY : 

What's that? 

SEVEN: 

You made me into 

An Individual. 

You encouraged me to stop thinking 

like a member of The Collective, 

to cultivate My Independence 

and My Humanity. 

But when I try to assert 

That Independence 

I am punished. 

JANEWAY : 

Individuality has its limits, 

especially on a starship where there's 

A Command Structure. 

[ Which she, very explicitly, is not in. ]

SEVEN: 

I believe that you are punishing me 

Because I do not think the way you do. 

Because I am not becoming 

more like you. 

You claim to respect My Individuality, 

but in fact you are frightened by it.

JANEWAY: 

As you were.