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When Seven of Nine learns that her
link to the Borg Collective has been severed, her demands that
she be returned fall on deaf ears. Investigating the former
drone's past, Janeway learns that she was assimilated as a young
girl named Annika Hansen. With her human physiology already
reasserting itself, Seven of Nine's immune system begins
rejecting her Borg implants, leaving the Doctor no choice but to
remove them. Meanwhile, Kes begins to experience a startling
increase in her telepathic abilities.
Janeway orders Seven of Nine to
assist the crew in removing the Borg modifications she made to
the ship. However, while working, Seven accesses the subspace
transmitter, trying to communicate with the Collective. But Kes
senses her actions, and with her new enhanced abilities, she
prevents Seven of Nine from completing the transmission.
Seven of Nine is held in the brig to prevent any further
attempts to contact the Borg. Over the drone's objections,
Janeway says she will make her fully human again, believing that
the end will justify the means. Meanwhile, Tuvok becomes alarmed
when he finds that Kes' new abilities are endangering the ship.
The ship's sensors reveal that Kes is periodically going into a
state of cellular flux, with her atoms destabilizing at the
subatomic level. Janeway is concerned but her attention is split
by her efforts to help Seven of Nine, who is fighting against
her assimilation into human culture every step of the way.
With the ship's defenses compromised by her transformation, Kes
decides it will be best for everyone if she leaves Voyager to
further explore her new state. Janeway barely gets her to a
shuttle before Kes' molecules completely destabilize and she
dissolves into pure energy. Kes uses her transformation to
bestow a final gift on her Voyager family, hurling the ship
safely beyond Borg space and ten years closer to home. The
Doctor finishes extracting most of the Borg technology from
Seven of Nine, leaving her with a human appearance and, Janeway
hopes, the instincts to complete her own difficult
transformation. |
