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Captain Janeway tells Seven of
Nine that one of the children Seven has been taking care of,
Icheb, is going to have to leave the U.S.S. Voyager. Icheb is
one of the four children that were liberated from the Borg
collective. Voyager's crew managed to locate Icheb's parents and
are planning to take him back to them. Seven is upset at this
because she has come to think of Icheb as a son.
When they near Icheb's home
planet, readings indicate there is a Borg transwarp conduit very
nearby and the planet has been attacked by the Borg several
times. When Janeway, Seven, Icheb and Tuvok beam to the surface,
they meet the planet's inhabitants, the Brunali. They notice
that most of the buildings are small huts and the Brunali tell
them that have to keep things very low-tech or the Borg will
detect them and attack the planet again. The only time the Borg
attack is when they think they can get new technology.
When the away team is greeted by Icheb's parents, Luecon and
Yifay, Icheb asks to go back to the ship. The away team and
Icheb's parents all go back to Voyager and discuss how to make
the transition easier but Seven begins to argue with the boy's
parents. While onboard, Yifay makes Icheb's favorite meal, which
he really enjoys. Leucon explains to Seven that the Borg took
Icheb four years ago when he wandered off to see a new
fertilization array. Leucon explains how sad he was when he lost
the boy.
After spending time with his parents, Icheb decides to stay with
the Brunali. He knows that his knowledge of technology can help
them rebuild their villages. Seven is sad to see him go.
As Voyager leaves orbit from the planet, one of the three
remaining Borg children, Mezoti, cannot sleep because she misses
Icheb. As she talks about it with Seven, she mentions that Icheb
told her he was taken from a ship, not from the planet's
surface. Seven is curious why Leucon had lied to her and begins
to research the planet. Her research reveals that the Borg did
not attack the planet four years ago, so Icheb could not have
been taken at that time. When Seven gives this information to
Janeway, the Captain turns the ship around and heads back to the
Brunali planet.
On the Brunali world, Icheb's parents grab him and inject him
with an alien medical device. The device renders Icheb
unconscious and his parents put him on a shuttle heading for the
Borg transwarp conduit.
When Voyager returns to the planet, Leucon is defensive and
tells them to leave. Harry Kim scans the planet for Icheb's life
sign but does not find him. Seven discovers the shuttle heading
for Borg space, and Voyager pursues. Seven manages to transport
Icheb onto Voyager just as a Borg Sphere emerges from the
conduit and traps both the Brunali shuttle and Voyager in a
tractor beam. The crew transports a photon torpedo to the
shuttle, which detonates inside the Sphere and damages it,
allowing Voyager to escape.
The Doctor determines that Icheb had been genetically engineered
at birth with anti-Borg pathogens. His parents had raised him
specifically to infect the Borg and stop the attacks on their
planet. The Doctor is able to suppress the anti-Borg virus, but
Seven is not sure she will be able to help Icheb come to terms
with what has happened. Seven trusts her maternal instincts and
begins to help Icheb understand that on Voyager he has a family
that loves him and will never let him go.
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