Star Trek: Voyager Borg Alive #5: Explained by Douglas Lee ci596@torfree.net (K/7) [G] NOTE: Harry and Seven. Harry and Seven. Harry and Seven. This is the last of a series of Harry and Seven stories, centering around the emergence of Seven's humanity while Harry is witnessing it from a personal and intimate point of view. This story contains my point of view in why Harry loves her. Other people have other ideas, of course. Constructive comments are welcome. -The Carp's Tail WARNING: The following story has no sex or coarse language whatsoever because I really think that an intimate relationship between them, if one were to happen, would be based on something more than just that. DISCLAIMER: Star Trek is currently the exclusive property of Paramount and Viacom. We cannot claim any ownership of it and if we tried, they would sue us. No copyright and/or trademark infringement intended. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- >"The last time we worked together I struck you at the base of your skull and attempted to contact the collective. >>"These things happen, hm!" >"I assure you it will not happen again." Seven of Nine and Harry Kim, "Revulsion" =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Seven of Nine stood in front of the mirror. It was a curious thing to do because she considered vanity, among other things, to be irrelevant. She looked at her brownish blonde hair drawn back into a severe bundle, the way she had always worn it since she became part of this crew. ". . .I took the liberty of stimulating your hair follicles; a vicarious experience for me as you can imagine," the Doctor had said in the cargo bay a few hours after her reconstructive surgery that restored a large part of her reasserting human physiology. The attractive half-Borg smiled slightly with amusement as she reflected on that moment, and she began to slip out of her "cocoa" brown jumpsuit. She looked at herself now. Her subtle blue eyes, of which one was an artificial replacement made by the hologram, stared back at her in a calm yet menacing manner. Her gaze slowly went down, noticing her soft, full lips which were parted slightly. Further down, her deceptively strong arms rested gently beside her well-rounded breasts, followed by a small but powerful torso and long and agile legs. Simply put, Seven was gorgeous and even that was an understatement. Certainly she _did_ attract a _lot_ of attention, especially from the men on the ship. On the other hand, a majority of the crew, both male and female, was fairly ignorant of the wealth of knowledge she had; most were either occupied with her looks or living in fear of her as opposed to showing any sort of appreciation of the other facets of her being. Still, a few knew about her capabilities as a valued crew member and they were often put to good use. Admittedly, she was very beautiful but that wasn't the only thing that a certain ensign said he saw in her. She saw his entire behaviour change very radically in the interests of protecting her. She wondered what was _really_ behind his love for her and she decided to find out sooner or later. As she picked up a self-prepared bundle from a nearby cargo container, she considered the other things on her mind. Her situation with the captain was at a relative stalemate and most of the crew were well-aware of the lost friendship between the two women. Curious, the half-Borg thought, that I should be concerned about something so irrelevant. . .or is it? She wasn't so sure. In fact, she progressively questioned her own convictions she had before. Her friend eventually told her that she was changing into something new and different, that she was evolving. Her humanity was more apparent than before and the Qirin encounter was both a deterrent and a encouragement in its development. Her earlier staunch denial of her evolution seemed to falter as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Seven's skin tingled enticingly as she shifted around in her new environment. It was a pleasing experience, even though it was one she had before, but now she had a different appreciation for it. The humans had a word for this, called "comfort." She debated briefly over the relevance of comfort before the half-Borg decided she liked this. She stared again and then looked at her tied-up hair. Without a moment's thought, her delicate fingers reached into the strands of golden-brown hair and quickly disassembled their compact formation. A relaxed sigh escaped her lips before she retreated back into the darkness. Lieutenant Tom Paris turned a corner and immediately saw his best friend, Harry Kim, leaving the Astrometrics Lab. He quickened his pace to intercept the ensign and after moment, he caught up to him. Harry nodded a greeting as they continued down the hallway. "So, Harry, how are things in the Astrometrics Lab?" Paris asked. "Tom, you know well enough that I'm not really in charge any more, not since Seven and I finished upgrading the sensors earlier this year," Kim replied, feeling a little suspicious of the lieutenant. "Otherwise, the lab's fine and operating as it should and Seven takes good care of it with her trademark brand of efficiency." "And how is Seven? She still has that attitude which scares the living hell out of everyone on the ship?" "Well, if you see it that way. . ." "That's what I wanted to talk to you about: _you_ seem to see her differently than everyone else does here. It's like there's this thing going on between you two -- almost as if you were, say, going out with each other or something. . ." The ensign didn't reply. "I mean, I know that you and Seven are really good friends and all because it appears that, well, you hang out with her a lot more lately." "What do you mean?" Harry asked uneasily. "For starters, you missed yesterday's hoverball game." "That really doesn't say much, but (if you insist) it's not like that hasn't happened before. So what?" "How about last week? "We were on Qirii, Tom, so a hoverball game wasn't a stellar idea at the time. Besides, wasn't Voyager pretty beaten up from the plasma cloud explosion back then?" "The week before last?" Paris prodded on. "Departmental reports. You know that just as much as I do." "Try three weeks ago." "Would you believe I forgot?" The lieutenant stood with his arms crossed in front of him. Kim could sense that Tom was following up on his insinuation. Any answer other than the one which was expected by the pilot would get the same unconvinced stare that was on his face. What I'd give for an interruption, anything! Harry thought. "Engineering to Lieutenant Paris," B'Elanna Torres' voice was both authoratitative and impatient, "I thought you're supposed to be here two hours ago!" You just made the Christmas list, B'Elanna, Kim smiled. "Just a little hold up, B'Elanna; I'll be right there," Tom tapped his badge. "I'll see you later and you can be assured that I'm looking for answers from you when I do." "Naturally!" The ensign held up his hands as Tom disappeared into a waiting turbolift before he took the next turbo to his destination. Captain Kathryn Janeway reclined in her sofa, watching the stars streak in front of her, past the large windows in her ready room. She held a cup of tea in her hand and took small sips from the porcelain cup as she looked on. A few minutes later, the door request chirped and she ordered the doors to open, admitting her visitor into the office. "You asked to see me, Captain?" The tactical officer asked. "Yes, I did," she nodded. "I reviewed the events occuring on the Qirin homeworld, particularly the scuffle in the palace. Right now, I'm not sure whether or not disciplinary action is in order for either Harry or Seven. After all, they were a catalyst in the eventual overthrowing of the Qirin monarchy," she said. "They were also responsible for extricating you and me from the situation. Had they not intervened at the exact moment they did, we may not be having this conversation today." "They virtually violated the Prime Directive, Tuvok." "With all due respect, Captain, you have not been one to uphold Starfleet's most sacred decree with consistency either." Janeway looked at her Vulcan friend sourly. She didn't need the reminder about her latest choice to recind the Prime Directive, in order to carry out the instructions of the Omega Directive. "On a more personal note, I've noticed that Harry and Seven have become quite close friends. If I didn't know any better, I would think that something was going on between those two. What do you think?" "Aside from their professional effectiveness, we may speculate a more cordial friendship is possible; but there is nothing to suggest that one exists. May I ask why you are interested in that possibility?" "Tom and B'Elanna, to say the least, weren't too discreet in their 'displays of affection for each other.' I was _this_ close to issuing a restraining order on those two because their relationship was beginning to have an effect on their responsibilities as senior officers." "Captain, have you noticed something with regards to the ensign and Seven of Nine?" "Hmm. . .well, from my past experience in talking with Seven, once her mind is made up on certain issues, she pursues them until the end, whether the outcome is successful or not. Her opinion is unwavering and she won't back down from her resolve -- I don't have to go into any details to prove that. Going on, the incident at the Qirin homeworld resulted in a strange sight. Remember how Seven had struck the emperor squarely and appeared ready to kill him on the spot?" "Yes but that was averted when Ensign Kim approached her and spoke inaudibly into her ear," Tuvok added. "I don't think he said anything to her at all, Tuvok. Harry was fairly close to Seven at the time and we know that her hearing implant gives her superior hearing abilities; he wouldn't need to speak to her at a close range. Even if he did say something to her, Seven would be more likely to ignore him and continue attacking the emperor." "What are you suggesting?" "I think that Harry _kissed_ Seven, which made her stop." "If your supposition is correct, this would imply that an intimate relationship existed _before_ the Qirin incident. That is, Seven would only be aware of the meaning of Ensign Kim's alleged kiss if he exerted previous influence on her understanding of human interactions; she might not have reacted in the way she did if she had been kissed by any other person. Captain, do you believe that an intimate relationship between Ensign Kim and Seven of Nine will interfere in future projects?" "It's all circumstantial. Apart from my observations, you said 'there's nothing to suggest that that one exists.' I can't charge them with anything since there isn't any proof of it, nor is it wrong for anyone to pursue a close friendship." The Vulcan raised his eyebrow dubiously. "All right, perhaps I _have_ kept a tight leash on the crew. I guess I was a little amazed to find that the only person to maintain any kind of friendship with her was Harry; everyone else was too concerned with other things that keeping an eye on them had become a moot point." Tuvok said nothing. "Well, it's a long shot, I suppose. I shouldn't have anything to worry about so I won't. It's because I treat the crew like a family and sometimes I feel I have to be more of a mother than a captain." "Perhaps, but even children must mature into their own." She smiled; there was that Vulcan fame of sagacious advice again. Kathryn nodded a dismissal to him and Tuvok left the office. She was interested in the relationship developing between the two young crew members but there was so little evidence to show that anything more than the most effective team on Voyager was there. If there _was_ something going on, they had done it behind their backs and even under her Vulcan friend's nose. She thought about cracking down on the possibility as she had done with Paris and Torres. Do I really want to, though? She asked herself. She looked at a padd which contained her message retrieved from the alien galactic relay network. Perhaps not. Harry leaned back in the turbo, relieved to get away from Tom's questioning. He didn't want to admit or even give any idea about his relationship with Seven beyond the professional one that was already known. Tom and B'Elanna had tried to keep their romantic fling private but Captain Janeway had caught them easily; Harry was determined to beat them but every now and then he had an urge to announce to the whole ship that he was going out with Seven. It would definitely cause an uproar among the would-be contenders for the half-Borg's attention (if she ever cared about that). On the other hand, it might not be a total shock to them: more than half the crew knew about his crush on Seven and most of them thought it was the usual more-than average skyrocket of hormones of the young, timid ensign, "fresh" out of the Academy. They never thought that anything serious would develop and he liked to keep that up. Seven didn't seem to have any opinion about their behind-the-door intimacy but there were a few moments when they passed each other in the hallway and he saw her flash a slight but very definite smile at him. Everyone else thought of her as an emotional ice queen, thanks to her association with the Borg. He saw something else in her, beyond her obvious great looks. He tried to show her (and to himself) that he always appreciated the more finer details about her being: her intelligence, her humour (however offbeat) and her extremely high sensitivity to maintaining a part of her Borg identity. She knew no other lifestyle than the Borg until now. When Seven was literally ripped away from the collective, he could see the once-proud drone lose her grip with her sense of reality. Even though she posed a threat to the Voyager crew, there was something that made him sympathize with her. When Captain Janeway brought Seven to Engineering to help remove the Borg technology from the ship, he could see the pain and anguish in her eyes (well, one of them, at the time). The day Chakotay assigned her to work with him on the Astrometrics Lab, Kim was more afraid of making a bad impression to her than being afraid of taking a dangerous risk of being with her alone. Risk wasn't much of a factor nowadays and he could see a definite change in the young woman he fell in love with, from cybernetic menace to reluctant pupil of the human condition. Kim's hand absentmindedly rubbed behind his neck as he remembered a less-than cooperative Seven striking him at the back of his head. It hurt a lot too! She later assured him, before working on the Astrometrics project, that she wouldn't do anything like that again and, so far, she kept her word. For the past few months, hurting him was the furthest thing she had done to him. Still, her eyes could burn holes through solid duranium but as for his own eyes, they lit up, recognizing the doors leading to a certain cargo bay. . . Seven stood at the end of her loft, above the main part of Cargo Bay Two. She looked at her hand, which held a digitized photograph of a small girl. She stared at the picture with a mix of indifference and a hint of sentiment. I was once this child, the half-Borg thought, before I became part of the collective. Her finger touched the picture where young Annika's face appeared. The girl had a broad smile on her face as her little hands held a single red rose. Red was Annika's favourite colour and she always picked out the red flowers whenever she had a chance. Annika thought that the red flowers were the most beautiful ones she had ever seen. Seven closed her eyes as she continued her somewhat awkward reminiscing of her history. Annika's mother brought in the birthday cake, much to the delight of the young girl. "There were six red candles," Seven murmured, "and one more to grow on. . ." That was the last happy moment Annika knew before she heard a cry from her father as Borg drones materialized inside their ship. The girl cried helplessly as she witnessed her parents being dragged away by the drones. "Annika!" Her father cried out. She closed her eyes, her face contorting as she heard her mother scream in sheer panic. She crawled under the navigational console and hid for a brief moment before a mechanical hand found her and took hold of her arm. "Seven. . .?" Someone called out. The attractive half-Borg opened her eyes and looked around. She wasn't on The Raven any more but on another ship called Voyager. "Seven. . .?" The voice came from below. She put the picture down before walking towards the ladder. In the meantime, Harry looked left and right in the darkened room without being able to tell the difference between the shadows and bulkheads. He heard a methodical click of heels on metal and within moments, he saw a slender figure appear into the light. "Yes, Ensign?" She prompted, looking at him attentively. Kim gulped hard enough just before he felt his jaw fall onto the deck. Seven stood in front of him, a changed woman. Her usual brown bodysuit was nowhere to be seen; in its place, the half-Borg wore a set of loose-fitting, red casual civilian clothes of a type that were worn by the female officers when they were off-duty. Although her alluring physique was less obvious because of the loose fit, Harry thought she still looked fantastic. In addition, Seven's hair was no longer in a compact bundle. Instead, the golden brown tresses were brushed back cleanly behind her to form a single ponytail, reminiscent of a hairstyle he saw on some Trill commander from some Bajoran space station. Her cold, stern facial expression had softened immensely, even though he had seen her let go of her uptight demeanour during the more recent weeks of their friendship. Still, he was treated to a highly reassuring and refreshingly wonderful smile gracing her lips. He forgot what Tom said. "By your reaction, I assume you're in favour of my appearance," Seven stated. "God, you're beautiful," Harry replied in awe. "But what made you choose to change the way you look." "I was never fully convinced that my humanity was emerging. The past two weeks of our mutual affiliation and your. . .insightful outlook on how humans act and react has proven to be quite. . .catalyctic." A pause and he noticed a glazed-over look on her face. "Is everything all right, Seven? You look kind of distant." "I was recounting a. . .memory of my history; the last moments of my childhood before my parents and I were assimilated by the Borg." The ensign gritted his teeth in a sheepish grin. He realized that he had interrupted her remembering of a personal and pivotal moment of her life. He wanted to apologize but he couldn't find the right words. "Your behaviour indicates discomfort in what you believe to be an intrusion," she noted. "I'm not offended by your inquiry to my mental well-being." He was silent for a while then the half-Borg turned on her heel and headed back for the ladder. Harry wasn't sure what to do as he saw his friend climb up the rungs to what he assumed to be a private place. She hadn't told him to leave so he was left hanging without a definite idea of what he ought to do next. Kim decided to climb the ladder after Seven and after a short while, he reached the edge of her loft. There was a light coming from behind an arrangement of cargo containers, which were in their original stacks except for a few changes, thus creating a kind of secluded area. As he walked towards the entrance to the niche, the ensign saw a neat stack of padds and Seven standing solemnly in the light. He stood and waited there as he watched her pick up something in her hand and look at it. He slowly walked up behind her and looked over the young woman's shoulder. She was looking at her picture and Harry noted the resemblance of the pictured girl to Seven, realizing that this was his friend at an earlier age. Kim noticed the remnants of a tear on the half-Borg's face. It was barely visible but there was a small reflection of the light coming from somewhere near her right eye. Seven turned to him and she had a inquisitive look on her face. He asked her to stay still and she complied. He reached carefully with his thumb and wiped the tear from her while his palm touched her cheek. Seven's left hand came up and held tightly onto his wrist as her eyes closed. It wasn't a strong grip; it was more like a reaction of a lonely child. "Are you sure you'll be okay?" Harry asked "Yes. Thank you for your concern," Seven replied softly. She let him gently pull his hand away. Although he could leave at this point, Kim thought this was the least appropriate time to do that. He just wasn't sure what he could do without seeming awkward. Seven was looking up at the ceiling now and he felt an aura of emotions emanating from her. It was eating away at him: he _had_ to do something! Harry's hands held her shoulders and he kissed her firmly. Her eyes fluttered to a close as his arms circled around her body. She was responding to him now, her lips reaching for more from him while he held her close. The tension inside her began to fade away. When their seal was finally broken, the ensign saw another tear appear on her face. He wiped it away from her again and they looked at each other in the dim light of the cargo bay. "I love you, Seven, and you have to know that I feel the pain that you're feeling," he said. "I won't pretend to understand it entirely but I want you to know that I'm here for you. I want you to know that I'm always ready and willing to share your pain and anguish." The attractive half-Borg's arms went around his shoulders and neck in a loose hold while he held her at her hips. She smiled weakly at him and nodded to acknowledge what he said. He hugged her again. "C'mon, let's take a walk; it'll do some good for you," he said, "and I've got something to show you." "All right. . .Harry," Seven murmured quietly in agreement. Kim blinked; she never called him by his first name before. Even with their close and intimate relationship well underway, she had always kept a reasonable distance when it came to names. There was something to this, and Harry decided to see how it would turn out. They climbed down the ladder and headed for the exit. When they were outside of the cargo bay, they turned in one direction and began. As they passed a few individuals and groups of crew members in the hallway, Kim noticed that the passers-by often took double-takes of the beautiful young woman with him. Most of them were surprised to see Seven in her new appearance while others gave glances of envy and jealousy as they witnessed another drawback in their bids for Seven's attention. He chuckled to himself: would she care about the fact that several others were interested in the kind of relationship he had with her now? She had to know that more than half of those who wanted her were acting out of lust. She was aware of that kind of mentality; after all, that was her original assessment of him in the earlier part of the year. "Holodeck One," Harry said as they stepped into the turbolift. The half-Borg looked on, her interest piqued. Normally, she would tell anyone that the use of the holodeck was a complete waste of time. This was a different situation, though, primarily because _he_ wasn't "anyone." The ride was uneventful and smooth, and they got off at the level where the holodecks were located. The bluish-white walls greeted the two as they found the simulation room unoccupied. The ensign went to the arch controls and punched in a few commands. After one more push of a button, the arch and the walls shimmered away and a well organized array of trees, flowers and other plants appeared. It was nighttime and twin moons reflected off the ocean's surface. The lapping of waves made for a soothing effect and light music played in the background "Do you remember this place?" He asked. Seven looked around and recognized her surroundings. "This is the garden on Merylia," she replied. "Despite our short time remaining on the planet, you've created an accurate re-creation. It would seem that your skills in holoprogram design are substantial." "It's hard to forget a place when something major happened here." The beautiful woman walked towards the edge of the grassy field and looked out at the panoramic view in front of her. Her clothes made slight flapping noises at the edges as a light wind blew around her. Harry soon followed and stood with her. She stood silently to herself. "Something's still bothering you -- I can feel it," Kim noted. "Seven, I'm asking you to tell me what it is. Was it something I did, something I said?" "You once told me that love was relevant to you, important to you. I know that you are in love with me but I wish to know the reason behind your love," Seven replied. "I've attacked you before but you refused to retaliate with violence; you responded with love. Why do you love me?" He looked at her and saw her inquisitive, intelligent eyes staring back at him. She deserved an answer from him and he knew that only the truth mattered. He couldn't make up some half-assed response that meant nothing -- he owed her the truth. Harry sat down on the grass while the half-Borg stood where she was. "I guess I started to have feelings for you when I first met you in Engineering, the day after we fought against Species 8472. Although you appeared controlled and collected, I could see a helplessness that's so uncharacteristic of any Borg drone. You didn't seem entirely willing to help us remove the Borg additions but you weren't exactly in a place to negotiate otherwise. Captain Janeway wouldn't turn Voyager around to return you to the collective, which meant you would be separated from everything you knew in your life. In an ironic way, you were just like us: far from the ones you loved or cared about and the chance of going home reduced to near impossible. Despite all the 'cultural' differences between us, I felt we had a lot more in common than what anyone was ready to admit. All this was before you underwent your physiological restoration, you know." "You were unconcerned with my appearance?" "It didn't matter at the time. I know what it's like to lose all your friends and to be alone with strangers. The Academy was like that. Seven, you were virtually alienated from everyone on the ship. My dad once said that the ones who are abandoned by those around them tend to make the most difference in the world yet. You _have_ made a difference to this ship and this crew but, more importantly, you weren't abandoned by the people around you." The young woman finally sat down beside him. "During our work in Astrometrics, were you in love with me when I asked you? You initially denied it," she said. "If it was anything, you caught me off guard and things were made even more complicated when you asked if I wanted to. . .uh. . ." "Copulate." "I always have trouble saying that word," he chuckled sheepishly. "To answer your question, I was in love with you but I'll admit that it was initially for the reasons that aren't as dominant now as they were then. I mean, I wanted it to be better kind of love but sometimes your looks get in the way of that. It's not like that right now -- you're beautiful but it's not the only reason why I love you." She waited for him expectantly. "I love you because I felt we were similar in a lot of ways. For one, I knew how you must've felt when you were separated from the Borg. We also worked together as a team like no other on Voyager and it felt good to know that I could work with someone as effective as you and be able to trust you to get it done. The Astrometrics Lab was a crowning achievement, in my mind, because it surprised everyone that we finished the schematics so quickly. "I love you because you're smart and assertive, and you aren't afraid to voice your opinion, especially if you're right. More often than not, it got you into trouble with Captain Janeway but that only strengthened your resolve, as I see it. Anyone else would've stayed quiet, fearing a reprimand but you had nothing to lose if you did speak out. You might not have needed the captain but she definitely needed you for your knowledge and skills that we know you have. "Another thing is the little known part of you -- your sense of humour. It's a little offbeat, compared to everyone else's idea of what's funny but that's okay! That's what makes you unique. I'd like to think that I can understand what your sense of humour is really like, aside from the strange notions of our human behaviour. . ." Seven's lips curved into a smile. "What I can't deny at all is that you _are_ attractive and really beautiful, especially the way you are right now," Kim said with a blush. "Every time I see you, it makes me feel lucky to know you and to have you as a friend. You're so serious and controlled around the others but when I'm with you, you seem to pull back and relax, and that's when I think I'm seeing the human part of you. I don't know why I'm the only one who sees this half of you; maybe there's something special between us that no one can explain. Perhaps, in your own way, you think of me as someone special but I _know_ that you are, to me." Harry put his hands in his hair and pulled them back. He had just spilled out everything he had kept to himself about her and it appeared to him that she was contemplating the whole bit. On one side, it was a great relief to let it all out, because she had a right to the truth. On the other, he felt embarrassment because here he was with no secrets left and everything in the open. Not even the gentle lapping of waves could soothe his nerves right now -- she was judging him. He stood up and walked to the same edge overlooking the open sea. He waited for a long time before he heard her soft footsteps approaching him. With her hand, she turned him around to face her. Kim looked at her and Seven's winning smile came back. "I love you, Seven," he whispered. "I. . .love. . .you, Harry," she replied, just as quietly. He held her face in his hands and saw that she had accepted him. There was no doubt in her eyes, only the assurance that they had the mutual love he had hoped for. They kissed, holding tightly each other tight in their arms as their eyes closed. The next moment was strange in that it seemed that Seven had intentionally ignored the sound of the holodeck doors opening. Even Harry didn't seem to care about it either. "Damn, I knew it!" Tom cursed as he and B'Elanna looked on.