JANEWAY: It's not as difficult as it looks. The first rule is, don't be afraid of the clay.
SEVEN: I fear nothing.
JANEWAY: I mean you can't concern yourself with making a mistake or whether the image you had in your mind is what's taking form in front of you. You just have to let your hands and the clay do the work. Here. Go ahead. I think the nose could be a little stronger. Well, that's a start. Keep going.
SEVEN: This activity is truly unproductive. The end result has no use, no necessary task has been accomplished. Time has been expended - nothing more.
JANEWAY: That depends on how you look at it, doesn't it. I find sculpting helps me unwind, relax.
SEVEN: The concept of relaxation is difficult for me to understand. As a Borg, my time was spent working at a specific task. When it was completed, I was assigned another. It was efficient.
JANEWAY: So is this. It helps my own efficiency to forget about Voyager for a while. I'd be embarrassed to show Maestro Leonardo something like this but I get a great deal of pleasure in working the clay, in creating something.
SEVEN: But why here? In this simulation? Among these archaic objects, in this disorganised environment.
JANEWAY: Frankly, it's refreshing to take myself out of the twenty-fourth century every now and then. And a little disorganisation can be very encouraging to the imagination. You might want to try it sometime.
SEVEN: Are you suggesting that I create one of these holodeck programs?
JANEWAY: You might find it interesting. It's a way of exploring aspects of yourself that probably didn't fit into your life as a Borg. Imagination, creativity, fantasy.
SEVEN: I am uncertain why those things are necessary.
JANEWAY: They aren't necessary, Seven, but they're an important part of one's life because imagination frees the mind. It inspires ideas and solutions, and it can provide a great deal of pleasure. Human progress, the human mind itself, couldn't exist without them. When I was a child, I studied these drawings. I even built some of these models. Da Vinci was always a great inspiration to me.
SEVEN: He was a very busy man.
JANEWAY: Oh yes, a prolific artist and a scientist as well. Far, far ahead of his time. That design, for example. He conceived of an airplane centuries before one was actually built. Seven?

[Borg vessel]

BORG [OC]: You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile. Your distinctiveness will be added to our own.
FATHER [OC]: Annika!
BORG [OC]: You will be assimilated. You will be assimilated.

[Holodeck - Da Vinci Workshop]

JANEWAY: Seven? What is it?
SEVEN: I don't know.

[Sickbay]

SEVEN: It's happened three times now in different locations, at different times of the day. I experience a series of disjointed images in my mind.
EMH: Can you be more specific? Were these hallucinations?
SEVEN: I don't know. I've never hallucinated. It's as if I were aboard a Borg vessel, but I was frightened. I felt fear. Each experience is similar. I'm being pursued by the Borg. They want to assimilate me. I'm running from them, and then, and then, each time I see a bird.
JANEWAY: A bird?
SEVEN: Yes. A large black bird, flying toward me, shrieking, attacking me.
EMH: Hmmm. Your hippocampus is in a state of agitation.
SEVEN: What does that mean?
EMH: As your human physiology continues to reassert itself, psychological symptoms are bound to manifest in a variety of ways, through dreams, hallucinations, hypnogogic regression.
SEVEN: Hypnogogic regression?
EMH: Flashbacks. You could be experiencing some sort of post-traumatic stress disorder.
JANEWAY: Makes sense. You were assimilated by the Borg. You've gone through an intense, prolonged trauma.
SEVEN: I was not traumatised. I was raised by the Borg. I don't see them as threatening. Why would I experience fear?
EMH: I don't know.
SEVEN: Will I keep having these flashbacks?
EMH: I'll need to study your neural scans further. In the meantime, your digestive system is fully functional. Now is as good a time as any for you to begin taking solid and liquid nutrients.
SEVEN: Oral consumption is inefficient.
EMH: And unnecessary if you're lucky enough to be a hologram. But your human physiology requires it. I'll draw up a list of nutritional requirements. Take it to Mister Neelix in the Mess Hall. I hesitate to inflict his cooking on you but it'll have to do.
SEVEN: I do not enjoy this sensation. Something is happening to me and I don't know what it is. It's as though I'm being driven somehow.
CHAKOTAY [OC]: Chakotay to the Captain.
JANEWAY: Go ahead.
CHAKOTAY [OC]: Our guests have arrived. They're being escorted to the Briefing Room.
JANEWAY: On my way. Representatives of the B'omar. I've been trying to negotiate passage through their space but so far they've been difficult to deal with. I hope they've had a change of heart.
SEVEN: I'll stay here and wait for the Doctor's instructions.
JANEWAY: We'll help you through this, Seven. You'll be all right.

[Briefing Room]

JANEWAY: Have you had a chance to consider our request?
GAUMAN: Congratulations, Captain. Against our better judgment the B'omar Sovereignty has agreed to grant your vessel passage through our territory.
JANEWAY: On behalf of my crew, thank you. That will cut three months off our journey.
GAUMAN: However there are a few stipulations. Guidelines that you must adhere to.
JANEWAY: You'll have our complete co-operation.
GAUMAN: We expect nothing less. While in our space, your vessel will not exceed warp three, and your weapons systems will remain off-line. You will avoid unnecessary scans and you will not conduct surveys of any kind. You will make no attempt to explore our space and you will avoid all communications with non-military craft.
DUMAH: We've also plotted the course your vessel is to follow.
PARIS: It'll take us weeks to follow that course.
CHAKOTAY: If not months.
DUMAH: We've designed this course so your ship would avoid our populated systems and industrial areas. Deviation is not recommended.
GAUMAN: There are a total of seventeen checkpoints where you will submit your vessel for inspection.
JANEWAY: Chancellor Gauman, if I may interrupt? I appreciate your efforts in plotting this flight plan, but if we could, I'd like to negotiate a course that's a little more direct.

[Mess hall]

NEELIX: Well! What an unexpected pleasure. Welcome to the Mess hall! Would you like me to show you around?
SEVEN: My physiology has reasserted the need to process solid nutrients. The Doctor has prepared a list of dietary requirements. You will provide them for me.
NEELIX: Let's see what we have here. Ah, two hundred fifty grams glycoproteins consisting of fifty-three percent polypeptides and twenty-six percent fibrous glycogen. Urgh, doesn't sound very appetising. However, a plate of my chadre-kab should satisfy most of these essentials while providing a pleasurable culinary experience at the same time.
SEVEN: Pleasure is irrelevant.
NEELIX: Well I beg to differ. A good meal involves much more than simply providing the proper nutrients.
SEVEN: Why is that?
NEELIX: Well, er, there's a certain satisfaction that comes from eating food that's been carefully prepared. I'm sure once you try it, you'll understand. Now, how would you like your chadre-kab? Boiled? Baked? Stir-fried?
SEVEN: Preparation is irrelevant.
NEELIX: is irrelevant. Maybe, maybe not. This is the first time ingesting food for you for quite a while. Let's go little easy on your stomach. Steamed. Yes, this, er this recipe has been in my family for generations. It's considered a delicacy among my people.
SEVEN: You are Talaxian.
NEELIX: Guilty as charged.
SEVEN: Species Two One Eight.
NEELIX: What? Oh, I suppose so.
SEVEN: Your biological and technological distinctiveness was added to our own.
NEELIX: I hadn't realised that.
SEVEN: A small freighter containing a crew of thirty-nine taken in the Dalmine Sector. They were easily assimilated. Their dense musculature made them excellent drones.
NEELIX: Well, lucky for you, I guess. Your nutrients. Follow me. Please.
SEVEN: Please what?
NEELIX: It's customary to sit while eating. Is something wrong?
SEVEN: I am unaccustomed to this. Borg do not sit.
NEELIX: Well, this is a day of firsts, then, isn't it? Now. Take a bite. Try that one. Just kind of er, scoop some up. That's the way. Right into your mouth. Just like a little scout ship flying into a Shuttlebay. Take it out but keep your mouth closed. That's it. Now chew. Chew, chew, chew, chew. And swallow. Swallow.
SEVEN: A curious sensation.
NEELIX: You'll get used to it. Have some more. May I bring you something else? Soothing cup of tea perhaps?
SEVEN: You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.
CREWWOMAN: Did you see that?

[Briefing Room]

CHAKOTAY: What about this course? It's a marginal adjustment. The nearest populated system is more than three light years away.
GAUMAN: Definitely not. You'd pass directly through the Agrat-mot Nebula. A key resource in our trade negotiations with the Nassordin.
PARIS: I could chart the nebula, try to avoid any
DUMAH: No, no, no! Are your translators malfunctioning?
TUVOK [OC]: Captain Janeway to the Bridge.
JANEWAY: If you'll excuse me.

[Bridge]

JANEWAY: Report.
TUVOK: I've received an alert from Security. Seven of Nine attacked Neelix in the Mess Hall and three other crewmen on deck two.
JANEWAY: Janeway to Seven of Nine. Seven, if you can hear me, respond.
CHAKOTAY: What's her location?
TUVOK: Deck six, section twenty eight alpha.
GAUMAN: Captain, what is happening here?
JANEWAY: I wish I knew, Chancellor. Chakotay, seal off deck six.

[Corridor]

BORG [OC]: Seven of Nine.

[Bridge]

CREWMAN [OC]: Security to the Bridge. We've just seen Seven of Nine. Her Borg shields are fully operational and they've adapted to our phasers.
JANEWAY: Acknowledged. Bridge to all security personnel. Configure your weapons to a rotating modulation, but keep them on stun.
GAUMAN: Borg. You have Borg on your ship.
JANEWAY: It's not what you think. She is a member of my crew. We liberated her from the Collective. She's no longer a Borg.
GAUMAN: Then why is she equipped with Borg shields?
JANEWAY: I don't know.
CHAKOTAY: She's able to cross through the security fields. She's entering the armoury on deck six.

[Turbolift]

SEVEN: Deck Ten.

[Bridge]

KIM: She's in a turbolift.
JANEWAY: Cut power to the turboshafts.
KIM: She's blocking my commands with a Borg encryption code.
JANEWAY: Janeway to Tuvok. Seven's apparently headed for deck ten. Can you get there before she does?
TUVOK [OC]: I'm moving into position now, Captain.

[Corridor]

TUVOK: We'll take position here. Lower your weapon and stand down. Fire.

[Bridge]

TUVOK [OC]: Tuvok to Bridge. We were unsuccessful.

[Corridor]

TUVOK: I have wounded. She's moving toward junction thirty-two alpha.

[Bridge]

JANEWAY: The Shuttle Bay.
CHAKOTAY: I'm erecting a forcefield Harry, reroute all available power to deck ten!
KIM: Done. She's accessing transporter control!
CHAKOTAY: She used a site to site transport. She's in a shuttlecraft, powering engines.
JANEWAY: Seal the launch doors. Tractor beam!
CHAKOTAY: No effect. She's remodulated the shuttle's shield harmonics.
KIM: Captain, Seven's headed directly into B'omar space. She's gone to warp.
PARIS: She's masked the shuttle's ion trail. I've lost her signal. She's gone.

[Ready Room]

JANEWAY: We'll do everything in our power to find her but we will need permission to enter B'omar space to track her shuttle effectively.
GAUMAN: Let's tally the events, shall we? First, you arrive uninvited and unwelcome requesting a shortcut through our space. Then you proceed to unleash some sort of rogue Borg and now you want us to help you get it back.
JANEWAY: I apologise for what's happened here but we certainly didn't unleash anyone. We can resolve this situation quickly, gentlemen, if we work together.
GAUMAN: Captain Janeway, after what I've seen here, I question your competence.
JANEWAY: May I remind you that you're still on my ship.
DUMAH: And you are one vessel among many of ours.
GAUMAN: Your Borg will be dealt with quickly and efficiently. It's being tracked as we speak.
CHAKOTAY: Tracked? How?
DUMAH: Every vessel, every object, every particle of dust that crosses our borders is immediately identified and traced by our perimeter grid.
GAUMAN: The Borg will be found and destroyed.
JANEWAY: Chancellor.
GAUMAN: There will be no sharing of information. From this point on, your vessel will maintain a distance of at least five light years from our borders. Any deviation will be considered an act of aggression.
JANEWAY: Commander, escort our guests to the transporter room.

Captain's Log, Supplemental. I've assembled a team to analyse every square metre of the cargo bay. This has essentially been her quarters for the last two months. I'm determined to find something here that might shed light on Seven of Nine's actions.

[Cargo Bay two]

TORRES: You're taking this kind of hard, aren't you?
KIM: What's that supposed to mean? We had a working relationship.
TORRES: Well, what's that supposed to mean.
KIM: It's not what you're thinking.
TORRES: What am I thinking, Harry?
KIM: Never mind.
TORRES: Take a look at this.
JANEWAY: Anything?
TORRES: It's a Borg datalink. It contains a succession of log entries written in Borg alphanumeric code.
KIM: I'm getting pretty good with the Borg language. I think I can translate them.
JANEWAY: Get on it.
CHAKOTAY: It seems we've made quite an impression on the B'omar. In the last hour, they've doubled the number of ships patrolling their borders and they've increased the sensitivity of the perimeter grid by thirty six percent.
JANEWAY: So much for diplomacy.
CHAKOTAY: The Doctor analysed the data from Seven of Nine's last transport. He's found something he wants us to see.

[Corridor]

CHAKOTAY: Maybe this was inevitable. Even if Seven did want to stay on Voyager her Borg nature may have won out. We can remove implant after implant, but, maybe at her core, she'll always be part of the Collective.
JANEWAY: No. I won't accept that.

[Turbolift]

JANEWAY: Deck five. She was responding to us, interacting with people outside the Collective for the first time. She was adapting to this environment and to this crew. But where is she going? We've scanned space for a distance of forty light years. We've found no evidence of Borg ships so she can't be trying to rejoin the Collective.
CHAKOTAY: She may plan to take the shuttle back to Borg space.
JANEWAY: Ten thousand light years from here? I don't think so. No, something else going on. We're missing a piece of the puzzle.
CHAKOTAY: In the meantime, the B'omar intend to find her. And if they do, she'll probably resist them.
JANEWAY: One more reason for us to find her first.

[Sickbay]

JANEWAY: What have you found, Doctor?
EMH: Something most peculiar. This graphic represents the matter conversion data from Seven of Nine's last transport. If you'll notice, there's a high concentration of Borg organelles in the bone marrow and lymphatic tissue. The dormant nanoprobes in Seven of Nine's cells have reasserted themselves, taken over blood-cell production and they're growing new Borg implants. Thirteen percent of the Borg technology I removed three weeks ago has regenerated in a matter of hours.
CHAKOTAY: You said the nanoprobes in her cells were dormant. What reactivated them?
EMH: I don't know, but I've developed a way to stop the process. This hypospray contains a genetic resequencing vector. It should neutralise the nanoprobes.
JANEWAY: That means someone needs to get close enough to do it.

[Bridge]

JANEWAY: Report.
TUVOK: We've analysed the B'omar perimeter grid. It's sophisticated but not without it's vulnerabilities. It might be possible to penetrate the grid by re-calibrating our shields to match its frequency.
PARIS: The trick is going to be our energy signature. Voyager's too big to hide but a shuttlecraft with the proper shield modulation and its engines powered down could drift right through without so much as a peep.
JANEWAY: Nice work, gentlemen. Proceed. The Doctor's genetic resequencer should keep her sedated until you get back to the ship. Once you've penetrated the perimeter, there will be no further communication with Voyager. You'll be on your own.
TUVOK: Captain, it is possible that Seven will adapt to the resequencer.
JANEWAY: I know. If it fails and you're unable to reason with her, you have my authorisation to stop her with any force necessary.
TUVOK: Understood.

[The Raven]

BORG [OC]: Seven of Nine. Grid nine-two of subjunction twelve. You will be assimilated.

[Seven's Shuttlecraft]

DUMAH [OC]: Borg Drone, you have committed an infraction against the B'omar Sovereignty.

[B'omar vessel]

DUMAH: Cut power to your engines and lower your shields. Prepare to be boarded. You will proceed no further. We will not

[Paris's Shuttlecraft]

TUVOK: I'm detecting weapons signatures. Federation and B'omar. Five B'omar vessels are adrift, heavily damaged. Lifesigns are stable.
PARIS: I've located Seven's shuttle. It's two point five million kilometres from here.
TUVOK: Adjust course to intercept.
PARIS: The implants in Seven's body are disrupting the transporter signal. I can't get a lock.
TUVOK: See if you can remodulate our transporters to match her shields
PARIS: You want to beam in there?
TUVOK: Yes.
PARIS: I'm not sure that's a good idea, Tuvok. Close quarter, Borg against Vulcan, you won't stand a chance if she decides to put up a fight.
TUVOK: It is my hope that the element of surprise will work in my favour. Do you have a better idea?
PARIS: Come to think of it, no. She's charging weapons.
TUVOK: Set my co-ordinates for the aft compartment.
PARIS: Ready.
TUVOK: Energise.
PARIS: Come on, Tuvok, give me a sign.
COMPUTER: Warning. Propulsion systems are off-line.
PARIS: Damn!

[Seven's Shuttlecraft]

SEVEN: It's a level five forcefield, Lieutenant. I suggest you be more careful.
TUVOK: Why have you left Voyager?
SEVEN: I am Borg.
TUVOK: You were Borg but you're human, now. You're part of our crew.
SEVEN: For a brief time I was human. But I've come to realise that I am Borg. I will always be Borg.
TUVOK: What prompted this realisation?
SEVEN: Every Borg ship is coded to emit a distinct resonance frequency to guide drones who become separated from the Collective.
TUVOK: A homing beacon.
SEVEN: Yes. I am following a signal. A Borg vessel is waiting for me.
TUVOK: We've scanned this entire region for Borg. There are none.
SEVEN: You're wrong. They are here. Vulcan. Species Three Two Five Nine. Your enlarged neocortex produces superior analytical abilities. Your distinctiveness will be added to our.
TUVOK: Seven?
SEVEN: No. I will not assimilate you. Once I return to the Collective, you will go back to Voyager and tell Captain Janeway what's happened to me. Thank her for her patience, for her kindness.
TUVOK: Curious. Your behaviour demonstrates affection and sentiment. Traits of humanity. Hardly Borg. You've been experiencing hallucinations, flashbacks.
SEVEN: Yes.
TUVOK: Does that usually occur when a resonance signal is activated?
SEVEN: No.
BORG [OC]: Seven of Nine. Grid nine-two of subjunction twelve.
SEVEN: But I can hear them calling me. I'm frightened
TUVOK: That's understandable. Lower the forcefield. We can return to Voyager and find out what's happening to you. I am your shipmate. We can return to Voyager together.
SEVEN: I must rejoin the Collective.

Captain's log, supplemental. I've been trying to retrace Seven of Nine's footsteps, her actions during the last few days, but I'm still no closer to understanding what's happened.

[Cargo Bay two]

KIM: Captain, am I disturbing you?
JANEWAY: Not at all, Harry.
KIM: I've managed to decipher Seven's log entries.
JANEWAY: And?
KIM: There's nothing that indicates she was planning to leave the ship. The entries are pretty unremarkable. She describes her daily routines, number of hours spent regenerating, that sort of thing. There were some personal log entries mostly observations about the crew's behaviour. I'm mentioned in quite a few of them. Apparently, she finds my behaviour easy to predict. Whatever that means.
JANEWAY: Don't take it personally coming from Seven, that's probably a compliment.
KIM: The most recent entries are kind of strange. Descriptions of bizarre images. Almost like a record of her dreams.
JANEWAY: The hallucinations.
KIM: Maybe so. Sometimes she's in a Borg vessel, running or hiding behind a bulkhead, falling down a shaft. Borg everywhere, chasing her. Nightmarish stuff.
JANEWAY: What about this bird?
KIM: She mentions it several times. It flies at her, shrieking. I don't know what it means.
JANEWAY: The feathers are black, wingspan approximately one half metre. The eyes are yellow and it has a powerful, triangular beak. When it looks at me, I am paralysed. I cannot move. It seems to know me, but I don't understand how that's possible. It's merely a bird, an inferior form of life, but the sight of it fills me with fear. It sounds like she's describing a member of the corvidae family like a crow, or a raven. She's describing a raven!
KIM: Why is that important?
JANEWAY: Because now I know what to look for.

[Bridge]

JANEWAY: Chakotay, calibrate our long range sensors to scan for any Federation signature other than our two shuttlecraft.
CHAKOTAY: Captain ?
JANEWAY: Do it. Bring the ship about, Ensign, and lay in a course for B'omar space.
ENSIGN: Aye Captain.

[Seven's Shuttlecraft]

SEVEN: The resonance signal is coming from the lunar surface. The Borg are waiting for me there. I don't know why I'm frightened. They are my people.
TUVOK: If you're afraid, then leave this place.
SEVEN: Once I've been reintegrated into the Collective, my fears will disappear.
TUVOK: Deactivate the forcefield. I will accompany you to the surface. You don't need to go alone.
SEVEN: You would be assimilated.
TUVOK: I don't believe so. I think this situation is not what it appears.
SEVEN: What do you mean? What else could it be?
TUVOK: I am uncertain, but I am willing to go to the surface with you to find out.

[Paris' Shuttlecraft]

JANEWAY [OC]: Voyager to Paris.
PARIS: Paris here, Captain. Glad to hear your voice. Tuvok is with Seven of Nine. I haven't been able to establish communication with him since he transported to her shuttle. I've tracked them to a Class M moon orbiting the fifth planet of a yellow dwarf star.

[Bridge]

PARIS [OC]: I'm picking up an unusual resonance signal from the surface. It's erratic. I haven't been able to identify it.
JANEWAY: Acknowledged. We've detected several B'omar ships closing in on your position. What's your condition?
PARIS [OC]: Warp engines are off-line and shields are

[Paris's Shuttlecraft]

PARIS: at fifty percent.
JANEWAY [OC]: Try to locate them, Tom. We're on our way.

[Moon]

TUVOK: The signal's getting stronger
SEVEN: They're here, I'm sure of it.
TUVOK: This way. If you like, we can return to the shuttle.
SEVEN: No. I have to find out. What is it?
TUVOK: It's a Federation vessel partially assimilated by the Borg. There are no lifesigns. Tritanium decay suggests it has been here for nearly twenty years.

[The Raven]

SEVEN: This vessel is familiar. This is the signal that's drawn me here.

[The Raven - flashback]

FATHER [OC]: Annika!
MOTHER [OC]: Run, Annika! Run! Hide!

[The Raven]

SEVEN: Papa? Help me!

[The Raven - flashback]

ANNIKA: No! No!

[The Raven]

TUVOK: Seven, I'm here. Listen to me. Come.
SEVEN: It happened here. This is where it began. This is where I was assimilated. This was our ship. We lived here, we lived here for a long time. My father did experiments. They were very important, and we had to travel a long way. I had my birthday here. My cake had six candles on it, and one more to grow on. And then the men came. Papa tried to fight them but they were too strong. I tried to hide, maybe they wouldn't find me because I was little, but they did. Then Papa said we were going to crash and the big man picked me up, and then suddenly we weren't on the ship anymore. We were somewhere else. And then I became Borg.
TUVOK: Fascinating. This resonance signal must have been active since the ship was assimilated and Voyager passed within range.
SEVEN: The ship is under attack.
TUVOK: The B'omar. The ship will collapse. We must get out of here.

[Bridge]

KIM: The B'omar still aren't responding to our hails.
CHAKOTAY: Standing by to fire.
JANEWAY: Target their weapons systems. Tom, what's your status?
PARIS [OC]: I've located Tuvok and Seven, but there's a lot of interference. I'm attempting

[Paris' Shuttlecraft]

PARIS: to lock onto them now, Captain.

[The Raven]

SEVEN: This way.
TUVOK: Are you all right?
SEVEN: I am undamaged. This was the only way to the hatch.
TUVOK: Perhaps there is another way out. There's a hull rupture in the forward compartment. It may provide a means of escape. Start digging. Quickly.

[Bridge]

CHAKOTAY: We've disabled two of their ships. The third is still firing at the surface.
KIM: We're being hailed. Audio only.
GAUMAN [OC]: You're committing an act of war, Captain.
JANEWAY: You've left me no choice, Chancellor.
GAUMAN [OC]: Reinforcements are arriving. You will be destroyed.
JANEWAY: I don't have time for this. Target their weapons array.

[The Raven]

TUVOK: Seven, I need your help.

[Bridge]

PARIS [OC]: I've got them, Captain. We're on our way to Voyager.
JANEWAY: Acknowledged. Good work.
KIM: I'm detecting a fleet of B'omar vessels approaching. Sixty eight ships.
JANEWAY: Ensign, as soon as Mister Paris's shuttle has docked, take us out of B'omar space. Warp eight.
ENSIGN: Aye sir.
JANEWAY: Looks like there won't be any shortcuts this time.

[Holodeck - Da Vinci's Workshop]