So, how's the newest addition to our family?
At the moment she's stable. Her human physiology has begun to reassert itself -
respiratory system, neurological functions, immune response.
But those systems are swarming with Borg implants.
There's a battle between the biological and the technological.
I'm not sure which will win.
Well, it's time we brought her up to date. Wake her.
Captain Janeway.
What have you...
The others. I can't hear the others. The voices are gone.
We neutralised the neurotransceiver in your upper spinal column.
Your link to the collective has been severed.
- You will return this drone to the Borg. - I'm afraid I can't do that.
You will return this drone to the Borg.
If this ship headed back into Borg territory I'd be putting my crew at risk.
I'm not prepared to do that. Try to understand.
You have to stay on board Voyager.
But I'm offering you freedom from the collective and I assure you...
Supply us with a subspace transmitter and leave us on the nearest planet.
- The Borg will come for us. - It's too late for that.
Your human cells are regenerating. You won't survive without medical care.
We need nothing from you. We are Borg.
We...
This implant is being rejected by the tissue. It has to be removed.
You will suppress the human immune system.
Sorry, but the process has gone too far.
- We've got to get you to sickbay. - No! We are Borg!
We are Borg!
This armour plating is anchored to the skull. There's no time to cut through.
I have to remove the outer skull itself.
- Lieutenant, will you please leave! - This Borg is a security risk.
She is heavily sedated, I assure you.
She is not going anywhere.
Thank you.
I want you to anaesthetise her cranial nerves.
- 20 milligrams anetrizine. - Yes.
- Kes? - I don't know what happened.
I looked at the hypospray and it came to me.
You've been experimenting with your abilities?
No, not for months.
But I have been feeling strange lately.
Lots of energy. Sleeping less.
I can see why. Your serotonin levels are 62% above normal.
Your brain's telepathic centres
are hyper-stimulated, like when you were
in contact with Species 8472.
- Are they attempting to communicate? - No.
This time I don't feel their presence at all.
Perhaps it's an after-effect of some kind.
A reasonable diagnosis, for a security officer.
I'll run an analysis, but it will have to wait.
We should get back to our Borg.
Come in.
We've got two teams on the hull stripping off the Borg armour.
They're working around the clock, but it's slow going.
- The warp drive? - Torres can't clean the plasma relays.
It's disrupting the antimatter reaction. Until it's fixed we're stuck at impulse.
She's requesting personnel with a level-3 rating to lend a hand.
Granted. Tactical update?
Long-range sensors are picking up transwarp signatures.
Borg vessels. They passed by three days ago.
So we're not out of the woods yet.
Having our propulsion system overrun by Borg implants makes repairs hard.
Seven of Nine could help us with that.
That might be true if she were willing. But she's not in a cooperative mood.
That could change. I just have to reach her somehow.
- Annika Hansen. - Our Borg?
It took some digging through the database,
but I found a single entry in the records of Deep Space 4.
Her parents were unconventional.
They fancied themselves explorers
but wanted nothing to do with Starfleet.
Their names were last recorded at a remote outpost in the Omega sector.
They refused to file a flight plan.
They aimed toward the Delta Quadrant and were never heard from again.
They may have been the first humans the Borg ever assimilated.
From what she's told me, that was almost 20 years ago.
So she was raised by the Borg. It was the only life she ever really knew.
Bringing her into the fold might not be possible.
What's the alternative? Toss her back to the wolves?
- Sickbay to Janeway. - What is it?
Could you come down, Captain? We're having problems.
I'll be right there.
It's like peeling an onion.
Store it in a biostasis chamber.
It may still be active, but if you think there's a risk
you can throw a little force field around the chamber.
A prudent security measure, for a doctor.
Report.
I'm afraid we have a decision to make. A difficult one.
Her human immune system has reasserted with vengeance.
Body armour, Borg organelles, biosynthetic glands - all being rejected.
Her life is in danger. I have no choice but to remove the Borg technology.
- Which is the last thing she'd want. - Hence the difficult decision.
If a patient told me not to treat them, even if it were life-threatening
I would be ethically obligated to honour that request.
This is no ordinary patient.
She may have been raised by Borg,
raised to think like a Borg, but she's with us now.
And underneath all that technology, she is a human being,
whether she's ready to accept that or not.
And until she is ready, someone has to make the decisions for her.
- Proceed with the surgery. - Aye, Captain.
Kes?
Let's begin with the microtubule network in the oesophageal tract.
- What's happening? - I'm not sure.
She's going into neural shock. I can't localise the source.
Kes, try to stabilise her motor cortex. Use a neuro sequencer.
Kes, I said to stabilise her cortex or we're going to lose her.
Wait. I can see it.
- What? - I think the problem is in her colliculi.
Yes. I can see it. A Borg implant.
It's pressing against her trochlear nerve.
Can you tell me how we can remove it without severing the nerve?
I think I can do more than tell you.
The implant is deteriorating.
Her nervous system is stabilising.
Nice work, Kes.
Unconventional... but effective.
They say the eye is the window to the soul.
In this case, it's a little bit more.
I fabricated an organ to replace her eyepiece,
but I've had to retain some of the Borg circuitry.
As a result she'll have increased acuity in one eye.
Note how perfectly I've matched the pigment of the iris to her human eye.
Excellent work. I admire your attention to detail.
- When can I speak with her? - She's out of immediate danger.
I won't resume extraction until tomorrow.
- I can wake her now if you'd like. - I would.
- How are you, Kes? - I feel exhilarated.
I've never been so focused in my life.
And my telepathic abilities are stronger than ever.
Your performance today was astonishing.
However, your psychokinetic powers are still undisciplined and unpredictable.
- I feel like I'm in control. - Nevertheless, proceed with caution.
- And my assistance. - What are you suggesting?
A series of guided meditations to explore the depth of these new abilities.
Kes?
I'm ready.
Well then, if you'll excuse us we should begin immediately.
Ready when you are, Captain.
Don't be alarmed. You're in sickbay. You're going to be fine.
What have you done to me?
Your body was rejecting the Borg technology.
You were dying. I'm sorry but we had no choice.
Those are dermaplastic grafts. They'll help regeneration.
Unacceptable!
- You should have let us die. - I couldn't do that.
I cannot survive outside the collective.
I beg to differ. Without Borg implants, your human systems are free to thrive.
And thriving they are. As a matter of fact, I...
I want to help but I need to understand what you're going through.
Do not engage us in superficial attempts at sympathy.
It's obvious you're in pain. That you're frightened.
That you feel isolated. Alone.
You are an individual.
You are small.
You cannot understand what it is to be Borg.
No. But I can imagine.
You were part of a vast consciousness, billions of minds working together.
A harmony of purpose and thought. No indecision, no doubts.
The security and strength of a unified will.
And you've lost that.
This drone is small now.
Alone.
One voice. One mind.
The silence is unacceptable. We need the others.
I can't give you back to the Borg, but you're part of a human community now.
A human collective.
We may be individuals, but we live and work together.
You can have some of the unity you require, right here on Voyager.
Insufficient.
It'll have to do.
And the fact is this community needs you.
The modifications you made to our vessel are disrupting our warp drive.
We need your help to remove them.
Your... expertise.
Your cooperation.
You must comply.
I think I've got all the Borg garbage out of the plasma intake manifold.
Let's try reinitialising the antimatter reaction.
Matter-antimatter reaction at 22 Cochranes and rising.
Damn! What happened?
Intake manifolds 11 and 13 are still blocked.
You think you've got them all out and...
You have neglected to remove the regeneration sequencers.
Lieutenant Torres, Ensign Kim, you remember Seven of Nine.
- How could we forget? - We can't delay repairs any longer.
So I've asked her to remove the modifications.
She only has a few hours. I suggest you put it to good use.
Start with the plasma relays in Jefferies tube...
Jefferies tube 13 Alpha, section 12.
We fully recall your engineering specifications.
Good. Can you recall how it looked before you turned it into a Borg circus?
Yes.
Now that the pleasantries are over, why don't you get to work?
I want updates every hour.
Yes, Captain.
The flame of the lamp is fire disciplined, tamed and under control.
It is the appropriate focus for the task ahead of us.
How do we begin?
I will attempt to guide you in manipulating the flame at the subatomic level.
Concentrate on the flame.
Try to see past the surface, past the light,
to the patterns of energy and matter.
- I can see the essence of the fire. - Good.
Now reach out with your mind and intensify the flame.
I'm making it hotter, brighter.
Now with your thoughts, reduce the flame.
Excellent. You've never demonstrated this level of control before.
It's as though I knew what had to be done and...
- What's wrong? - Something's happening.
I can see further, beyond the subatomic.
Kes, there is nothing beyond the subatomic.
But I can see it, Tuvok.
It's a new level of reality.
It's beautiful.
Perhaps we should stop for now.
Wait a few seconds. I want to try to control it.
Don't worry, Tuvok.
What about these linkages? When I pull one out, another one comes back.
Autonomous regeneration sequencers. They counteract resistance.
How did you come up with the duplication design?
The Borg assimilated this technology in Galactic Cluster 3 from Species 259.
I'm not interested in a history lesson. How do we disable it?
You must disconnect each sequencer conduit.
Why don't you two work on the Jefferies tube. Start with the plasma relays.
I'll start here.
You said the Borg got their stuff from Species 259. Who are they?
I guess the Borg meet a lot of people, don't they?
Stupid question.
So what's it like out in Galactic Cluster 3?
- Beyond your comprehension. - Try me.
Cluster 3 is a transmaterial energy plain
intersecting 22 billion omnicordial life-forms.
Oh. Interesting.
Ensign Kim, your assistance.
Captain, somebody's trying to access the subspace transmitter.
She's erected a force field around the door. We can't break through it.
- She's bypassed security. - Disable the transmitter.
It's too late.
Your abilities have progressed beyond this particular Vulcan exercise.
I suggest we...
- What is it? - Something's wrong.
The Borg is trying to contact her people.
Tuvok to security team 1. Intruder alert in engineering.
Wait. I think I can stop her.
It's over.
Tuvok to bridge. Status?
There was an explosion as she was about to initiate her transmission.
We don't know what caused it.
I believe I may have the answer, Captain.
I can tell by your expression that you've got bad news.
I have no expression on my face.
However, you are correct. The news on two separate fronts is not good.
I checked the bandwidths. A partial signal was transmitted from Voyager.
- Enough for the Borg to track? - Possibly.
- And the second front? - There's cause for concern about Kes.
Explain.
Internal logs show she destabilised the Jefferies tube at the molecular level.
The effect weakened the infrastructure of the deck.
She wishes to develop her abilities further.
I am not certain it would be safe for Kes or Voyager.
An Ocampan who wants to be more and a Borg who's afraid of being less.
Here's to Vulcan stability.
Wait for me.
So this is human freedom.
I've decided to keep you in the brig until I'm sure you won't try to harm us again.
If necessary the doctor can treat you here.
I believed you were going to help us.
You were not deceived, Captain Janeway.
- It was my intention to help you. - What happened?
There was a chance to contact the collective. I took advantage of it.
Your attempts to assimilate this drone will fail.
You can alter our physiology but you cannot change our nature.
We will betray you. We are Borg.
I've met Borg who were freed from the collective.
It wasn't easy for them to accept their individuality, but in time they did.
You're no different. Granted, you were assimilated at a very young age
and your transition may be more difficult, but it will happen.
If it does happen, we will become fully human?
Yes, I hope so.
We will be autonomous. Independent.
That's what individuality is all about.
If at that time we choose to return to the collective,
will you permit it?
I don't think you'll want to do that.
You would deny us the choice as you deny us now.
You have imprisoned us in the name of humanity,
yet you will not grant us your most cherished human right -
to choose our own fate.
You are hypocritical. Manipulative.
We do not want to be what you are.
Return us to the collective!
You lost the capacity to make a choice the moment you were assimilated.
They took that from you and until I'm convinced you've gotten it back,
I'm making the choice for you.
- You're staying here. - You are no different than the Borg.
Talaxian champagne. Moon-ripened. Your favourite.
Neelix, where did you get this?
I put a bottle away for a special occasion.
Remember when we last sipped this together?
Three years ago. It was when we first arrived on Voyager.
- Do you remember the toast I made? - Yes. "To the adventure.”
To the adventure.
When you left Ocampa, you said that your people were being held back,
that if you were only given the chance, you could become so much more.
- And you have. - Things haven't worked out as planned.
I was only holding you back. That's obvious to me now.
No. I couldn't have come this far without you.
And I love you. I always will.
It's just...
My cooking. You've always hated my cooking.
That's exactly what it was.
Ah.
So tell me more about what's happening to you. What does it all mean?
I don't know. And that's what makes it so exciting.
It's as if I can see into a place
where the distinction between matter and energy and thought no longer exists.
That's only the beginning. It's as if all my boundaries are about to fall away.
It sounds...
...inter...interesting.
I only have to look at an object, gaze at it, and I can begin to see...
that the space between the atoms is being filled with something else.
Kes?
I can see it... I see...
- Kes, stop! - No!
Neelix!
I'm picking up strange energy readings from the mess hall.
Bridge to Neelix, what's going on down there?
- Neelix, report. - The bulkhead there is coming apart.
- Increase the structural integrity field. - Tuvok.
I've run every neuro-analysis, everything short of dissecting the brain itself.
Her telesynaptic activity is increasing, but I don't know why or how to stop it.
Have the internal sensors revealed anything?
For 17.4 seconds, Kes' body went into a state of cellular flux.
She began to destabilise at the subatomic level.
Then her atoms re-established their bonds and she was back in one piece.
But what about next time? Her condition is escalating.
We must suppress it, or the last we'll see of Kes
is molecules blowing through the ventilation ducts.
Tuvok, enhance the structural integrity fields throughout the ship.
If she had another incident I'd like to avoid a hull breach.
Doctor, maybe it's time we broaden our horizons.
This appears beyond medical science. We're into particle physics now.
I'll look through the quantum substructure database.
- Maybe it will give me some inspiration. - Keep me informed.
Kes, until I can devise another diagnostic procedure, you're free to go.
Actually, I'd like to help with the research.
I don't want you overexert yourself and risk another telepathic incident.
- Try to get some rest. - Just let me stay a little while.
I haven't seen you much over the past few days. I miss you.
All right. Just for a while.
- Ensign Ayala to the bridge. - Go ahead.
You'd better come down to the brig, ma'am.
One.
My designation is Seven of Nine.
But the others are gone.
Designations are no longer relevant.
I am... one.
Yes, you are.
But I cannot function this way! Alone.
You're not alone. I'm willing to help you.
If that's true, you won't do this to me. Take me back to my own kind.
You are with your own kind. Humans.
I don't remember being human.
I don't know what it is to be human.
- What are you doing? - I'm coming in.
I'll kill you.
I don't think you will.
Do you remember her? Her name was Annika Hansen.
She was born on stardate 25479 at the Tendara Colony.
There's still a lot we don't know about her.
Did she have siblings? Who were her friends? Where did she go to school?
What was her favourite colour?
Irrelevant!
- Take me back to the Borg. - I can't do that.
Quiet... one voice...
One voice can be stronger than a thousand voices.
Your mind is independent now, with its own unique identity.
You are forcing that identity upon me. It's not mine.
Yes, it is. I'm just giving you back what was stolen from you.
The existence you were denied, the child who never had a chance.
- That life is yours to live now. - Don't want that life!
It's what you are. Don't resist it.
No!
Captain's log, supplemental.
Warp drive is still off-line and we don't know if the Borg have detected us.
Kes' abilities continue to damage the ship's structural integrity,
and as a result our defences have been compromised.
Come in, Captain.
You wanted to see me.
Ah, Tuvok's meditation lamp. I was with him when he got it six years ago,
from a Vulcan master who doubled the price when he saw our insignias.
I'm sure it was the logical thing to do.
I've been thinking about everything that's been going on.
And I know what I have to do.
- It's time for me to leave Voyager. - Oh, Kes.
Something important is happening. I want to explore it.
But I can't stay here, I'm a danger to all of you.
We'll get to the bottom of this. The doctor's working on a new approach.
Everybody thinks that what's happening is a medical condition. That's not it at all.
I'm going through a transformation. I don't know how or why.
Every cell in my body is telling me that I'm changing into something more.
But what if it's not true?
What if you're simply being swept up in the excitement,
but it's not real?
On the basis of a feeling, an intuition,
you're asking me to let you go, quite likely forever?
- Kes, I just can't do that. - It's my decision.
My fate.
Would you really try to stop me?
No. But argue with you? Even plead with you to reconsider?
Absolutely. For as long as it takes.
It won't work.
Look at me, Captain. I'm the same Kes you've always known.
I haven't lost my judgment. I'm not under some alien influence.
I believe something crucial is happening to me.
I want to see it through.
You've lived most of your life here.
Voyager has been your home.
And you've been a vital part of this family.
Oh, I'm going to miss you.
Now all I have to do is tell the Doctor. He's not going to be happy.
It's starting.
- Janeway to bridge. - Chakotay here.
Prepare a shuttle for launch and have Tuvok meet me.
- Captain? - Kes is leaving us.
- Come on. - Captain, I can't stop it.
Janeway to Chakotay. Beam us directly to the shuttlebay.
The molecules in Kes' body are destabilising.
- It's interfering with the transporter. - We can't get a lock.
Acknowledged. Looks like we'll have to do this the hard way.
What's happening?
The hull is destabilising. The molecular bonds are breaking down.
Tuvok...
I can't keep going.
I will attempt a mind-meld to help delay the transformation.
Our minds are one.
Our thoughts are one.
Try to regain control for a moment.
Only for a moment. Only for a moment.
You must hurry.
- Hull breach on decks 3, 4 and 5. - Emergency containment fields.
Janeway to bridge. Kes is aboard the shuttle.
- Initiate launch sequence. - Acknowledged.
Shuttle distance, 100,000 kilometres. Speed, one quarter impulse.
- Can you hail her? - I've been trying.
What's happening? What's happening to me?
Her atomic structure is completely destabilising.
My gift to you.
The warp core just came on-line.
Matter-antimatter reaction at 102%...
110%... 120%!
This can't be right! Our speed is... is impossible!
We're coming apart!
We've dropped out of... whatever it was we were in.
- Systems coming back on-line. - On screen.
- Where are we? - 9,500 light years from where we were.
She's thrown us safely beyond Borg space.
Ten years closer to home.
I've extracted 82% of the Borg hardware.
The remaining bioplants are stable and better than anything I could synthesise.
- It is acceptable. - Fashion is hardly my forte.
But I've managed to balance functionality and aesthetics
in a pleasing enough manner.
I also stimulated your hair follicles,
a vicarious experience for me as you might imagine.
You'll have to spend a few hours a day regenerating
until your human metabolism can function.
- We'll leave an alcove operational. - Understood.
Let's see how things go over the next few weeks.
I'll consider granting you access to the rest of the ship
once I trust that you won't try to get us all assimilated again.
It will not happen again.
Good. If you need anything, contact me.
- Red. - What?
The child you spoke of, the girl.
Her favourite colour was red.
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